The Plot Thickens
by rosainfiore
Summary: To give you the gyst of the story, Mokona transports our protagonists to Seresu, Fai's home world. Problems ensue, such as dealing with Fai's relationship with a childhood friend. Basically it varies between angst, humour, and romance. Mostly it's angst.
1. Chapter 1

**HAY GUYZ.**

Okay. Explanation time. I started this fic about a million billion years ago (translation- about two years ago) and since I was only 13 at the time I thought, "WOW I GOOD WRITER", but going back on it now makes me cringe. Well, the first couple chapters, anyway. I PROMISE IT GETS BETTER. ;-; Basically I began writing this, got to a difficult part, and put it on hiatus for several months, where it lay untouched for far too long. Then I went back, edited like crazy (and it's _still_ not satisfactory), and began writing again. I put off posting this, insisting I wanted it finished before it was posted anywhere, but I decided I don't want to wait any longer, because I'm dreadfully impatient.

PLEASE ENJOY MY STORY. Also, please ignore typos, as I don't have a spell-check or anything like that on this computer...

**-Chapter One-**

With a whirr of feathers, four travelers and a manju bun felt their feet touch solid ground. It was very foggy, and no one could see more than five feet away from them. Even after just moments in the fog, three of the travelers were shivering-- it was intensely, bitingly cold. Fai was first to notice a light coming toward them, bobbing up and down in the rhythm of the carrier's steps.

"Is someone there?" called the young woman just barely visible through the dense air.

"Yes, we are!" Fai answered, waving his arms above his head. "Who might you be?"

"Just what I was going to-- _Fai Flowrite!!"_

The woman had a look of utmost shock plastered on her face, and stopped moving toward them, completely aghast. Fai seemed equally stunned.

"_G-Guenevere?!"_

Guenevere's shock seemed to evaporate, leaving nothing but hatred, disgust, and-- as odd as it seemed, as Fai usually evoked this feeling last from people-- sadness.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?! You _bastard_--" Fai quickly bent to cover Sakura's virgin ears, "--deserting us like that, especially at the time of greatest need!! And taking down the entire Sirian army? Are you _insane?!" _Guenevere nearly shouted. She looked like she was going to continue storming at him, but instead, she took a deep breath and forced a smile. Fai uncovered Sakura's ears, although hesitantly. Guenevere broke the awkward silence by murmering, "Well, if you've come back to us, you might as well come with me. Come on, all of you, I've got tea on." And she turned on her heel and stormed through the forest, motioning for the others to follow her.

"And stay near me, please, or you'll get lost in this wretched fog."

Fai was too shocked to object, but simply shook his head and followed the young woman, Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona, and Kurogane.

At the woman's small cottage, after a short introduction, each of the newcomers was given a hot cup of strong tea. Guenevere sighed.

"I'm sorry for acting so rough to Fai, and using-- well-- rather innapropriate language," she said, staring into the fire, the small room's only source of light. The room itself, the living room, was indeed small for having to house five people and Mokona, as opposed to only Guenevere.

"I-It's no problem," said Syaoran. "It was obviously a real shock to see Fai-san."

"You've no idea," said Gwen coldly, glaring at the magician from across the room.

Sakura, in need of a nap, had curled up on the chaise lounge. Syaoran wasn't far behind, and after she noticed him nodding off, Gwen directed everyone to the rooms she could spare. There were two guest rooms, and Sakura and Syaoran were to share a room, while Kuro and Fai could share the other. Kurogane also had an early night, which meant that Fai and Guenevere were left sitting by the fire sipping their tea, Fai on the carpet, and Gwen stretched out luxuriously on the newly vacated chaise.

"Sooo..." said Fai, clearly uncomfortable. He looked at his hands, his cup resting near his left foot. He was very close to the hearth, and in his fidgety state started drawing absentmindedly in the thin layer of soot with his black gloves. Gwen herself was wearing something very similar to him, which was apparant as soon as everyone had gotten a good look at her. In fact, they wore almost the same outfit, with some very minor details different than the other's. Her shirt was white and ice blue, like Fai's, and was designed in almost a nearly identical way, complete with the same gloves. She had been wearing a thick cloak like Fai's too, also white, blue, and black.

Gwen sighed. "Fai... It's been a long time. Six months, if I do believe I'm right."

"Mmmm."

Guenevire took a sip of her sweet tea. "I turned twenty while you were away."

"Well.. Happy belated birthday, then, I s'pose."

An awkward silence passed between them, but Fai couldn't help asking the question burning at his mind.

"Why are you wearing magician's clothing?"

Gwen grinned and laughed darkly. "I thought it would have been obvious. Since you betrayed and left us, the kingdom needed a new Wizard. Or Witch, in my case."

Fai didn't know how to respond to this. As long as he could remember, he had trained up to be the kingdom's Wizard, and at twenty one he had managed that feat. However, not a month later the castle had met corruption and attack, and Fai had been forced to leave. Not until he was twenty one was he good enough, and yet this girl had become the Witch at twenty. _Twenty. _Well, nineteen, if she had turned twenty after she had become Witch. She probably had. It must have been around November or so, and he had left in... May. Or April, he couldn't remember. But still, it was astounding. Little Gwen must have improved greatly while he was away.

"What are you staring at?"

Gwen was looking at him over her teacup, an annoyed frown on her face.

Fai shook himself mentally and tore his eyes away from the lovely young woman to his left. "Nothing. Just thinking about how much you've grown up since I left you."

And for the first time that night, Gwen smiled a real smile.

"I could never resist you when you'd say things like that to me." She paused, and the hesitantly asked, "Why do you say them now?"

Fai shrugged, and placed another log on the fire. "I guess an old flame never truly dies."

Gwen felt hot tears pricking at the corners of her eyes that probably had something to do with the billow of smoke that suddenly poured into the living room as Fai accidentally closed the flue.

"Shut up. You shouldn't talk like that anymore."

"And why would that be?"

Gwen sighed. "Seresu... Is not as safe as it once used to be."

Fai was undeniably curious, and straightened up. Gwen yawned widely and readjusted herself on the couch before continuing.

"After you left us-- in a _very_ inconvenient time, I might add-- it turns out that King Ashura had been put into a magical sleep." Suddenly, Fai became intensely uncomfortable. He doubted that Gwen knew it was him, that he himself had put Ashura into that sleep. "Well, we knew that you had managed to take out enough of their armies, and we thought that we had a victory in the bag. Only problem is, someone put Ashura under that sleep, and since you had left us, we had no one that could legally perform enough magic to defeat their armies." She paused to take another sip of her tea. "We lost the war, obviously."

"_What?!"_

"Yep. We lost it. We were under the Sirian's control."

"But you're still Witch, this placelooks no different from how it did when I left--"

"That's because it isn't different. Not long after, I organised a revolution, and we revolted against the Sirians, and with my magic we were able to defeat them. However, we do not have a king. Just me. I've been running this country by myself."

"But that doesn't tell me why it's not safe here," Fai insisted.

"Fine, fine. You see, ever since we beat them, those idiot Sirians have been sneaking around our towns with disguise spells on them, playing the parts of innocent Seresu villagers. Mostly they've been trying to imitate people close to me to-- " Gwen's eyes grew wide-- "Wait a moment. How do I know I'm speaking to the real Fai Flowrite? Your sudden arrival _is _very suspicious."

Fai smiled softly. "Would you care to test me?"

Gwen grinned evilly. "Oh no, that's not a problem. Just take of your shirt."

Fai seemed to know what was coming and proceeded to strip down to his pants and boots, a slightly apprehensive look on his face. "Well?" he asked.

"Turn around. I need to see your back." Fai did so, more grudgingly than ever. Gwen, as soon as his back was to her, ran her fingers across his skin, murmuring something that sounded like a song. He knew what would happen and was not looking forward to it, but the spell was so soothing... Like a lullaby... And before Fai knew what he was doing, he had fallen back with his head resting in the Witch's lap, fast asleep. His lips were parted slightly, and the young lady suddenly couldn't help but be glad to see him again. Gwen smiled. "Yep, that's him all right." She hesitated, but grinned mischievously. "Maybe I'll just check anyway..." And with that, she leaned down and ran a finger over his stomach, down to the waistline of his pants. She had to pull down the right side to see it properly, and what his reaction would be if he were concious made her have to cover her mouth with a hand as to not burst out laughing. It really was very enjoyable, making fun of Fai. Anyway, there was a tiny birthmark in the shape of a cat's head there. Gwen had always thought it was very cute. She knew that no one besides Fai, herself, and Fai's parents knew about it, and since his parents had long since passed away, she knew that no one could have told the Sirians about it. The only way a Sirian could fully impersonate him was to have that birthmark, and the only way they could have that birthmark was to know it was there. As for the spell she had put on him, it was a very simple test. Every inhabitant of Seresu had the innability to stay awake if that spell was put on them, and since it was such a simple spell to perform, mothers had no problem putting their children to sleep at night. Every other person who hadn't been born in Seresu was completely unaffected by it.

Then she noticed that Fai's tattoo had gone. It had been there when he had been Wizard, and she knew that had been applied by Ashura as an enhancer of Fai's natural gift for magic. She supposed that it must have just disappeared when he lost his official title of Wizard. Ashura was obviously asleep, and was thus not able to apply the pheonix to her own back, so she didn't know for sure what happened if the title of Wizard was revoked. Usually most people served their term until death anyway, so she didn't have any reference anyway.

Jerking Guenevere out of her thoughts, Fai suddenly woke up, very groggy. "You didn't need to use that spell so powerfully on me. Now I have a terrible headache," Fai play-moaned, throwing an arm theatrically over his forehead and staring up at her pitifully, mouth in an adorable pout. Gwen giggled and poked his nose. "Well, I had to check. Imagine giving information like that to a Sirian. They'd have an immediate way of getting to me, wouldn't they?"

"How so?"

Gwen sighed and used her delicate fingers to brush his hair out of his eyes. His hair was almost as pale as hers, and they had the same hint of curls. Her eyes almost perfectly matched his, the same pale, icy blue colour. Their skin was obviously very similar, seeing as they were from the same country, the same world. Since Fai had been travelling through different worlds, his skin wasn't quite the same ghostly pale as hers, and it was weird seeing how very pale she was after looking upon the dark, tanned skin of Kurogane for so long. Even Sakura looked tan compared to the alabaster mage before him. Had he stayed in Seresu, he knew, their skin would have been the same pale porcelain. Hers complexion was so fair, in fact, that he knew it must be winter here, when the sun very rarely would shine on them. He suddenly knew how very cold it must be outside. Fai waited for her answer, all the while studying her face. He hadn't seen it in such a long time.

"Oh, Fai," she said softly, "You know why."

She averted her eyes. Fai frowned skeptically. He didn't want to get his hopes up, in case...

"What did you see me as, might I ask?" asked Fai hesitantly, trying to sound as if this was a throw-away question of no real importance to him.

Guenevere hesitated for a moment, but said, "A wonderful teacher... And a wonderful friend." Indeed, Fai himself had become Gwen's tutor in magic, since the previous Wizard had passed away and Fai had taken his place.

Fai sighed. "Is... that all?"

Gwen couldn't answer him. "Here, let's sit on the floor and I'll feed you the rest of your tea."

"No thanks, I'm not feeling well." It was true, but it wasn't fully because of the spell.

"Rubbish, you're drinking it whether you want to or not," she said, her voice suddenly brisk, like it had been before the sensitive subjects they had covered. "I've put a heating spell on it, we seem to be having an even colder winter than usual. You could freeze if you went outside right now, without the proper spells and clothing." Sure enough, Fai glanced at the window and saw that it had started snowing outside, and that the window itself seemed to be layered in ice.

"Now I'm getting down onto the floor, so you have to sit up for a moment." Fai did so, and Gwen was able to set herself gracefully be the hearth, her legs crossed. While she did this, he replaced his shirt, clasping it with slightly pink cheeks. She pulled Fai toward her and he rested his head on her lap again, crossing his arms. She took his cup and waved her hand through the air. A spoon appeared, and she started spooning the tea into his mouth. They would occasionally say something, like a joke, to lighten the time they were spending together, but it was mostly quiet.

"Hey..." said Fai, just noticing something, "Your ears... They're pointed..."

Gwen grinned and felt them. "Yes. I had totransfigure myself. It seems the one thing the Sirians can't copy onto themselves are pointed ears. Pretty silly, really. And since I'm possibly the most important Seresen in the entire country, being Witch and partial Queen and all that, it's vital that I'm not copied in order to mislead villagers. This way everyone can feel safe that they're truly talking to me."

"Should I transfigure mine too? Just in case?"

Guenevire giggled. "No, I've got my own way of recognizing you." She noticed Fai looking at her questioningly, and laughed. "Your mark is still there."

For a moment, Fai thought she was referring to the mark that Yuuko had taken as payment, but then remembered what she was referring to. "You _looked? There?!" _A dark blush crept onto his ivory cheeks.

Gwen laughed and spooned more tea into his open mouth, making him choke slightly as he wasn't expecting it, but swallowed and stared incredulously at her. "I can't believe you actually looked... Nonetheless remembered..."

"Of course I would remember, it's so cute!" She giggled again and spooned more tea into his mouth. Some spilled onto his skin that time, and obviously it burned him, because he gasped and rubbed the tea off. It left a slight burn mark, and so Gwen gently placed her pointer finger onto it, and murmured something before Fai felt the pain leave his cheek. He didn't know where it had gone until he saw the same burn on her finger, which she had obviously absorbed his burn into. He took her hand and scrutinuzed the burn.

"Doesn't it hurt you? Why did you do that?" Fai asked.

"Yes it hurts, but only a little," she said soothingly. "Besides, it was my fault that you got burned in the first place. The tea isn't hot to the mouth, but it is to bare skin. And why would I want to marr your beautiful face?" Gwen teased. "Don't worry, I'll live," she added hastily, as he looked somewhat upset. But surprisingly, so surprisingly that she almost dropped the teacup, he took her finger into his mouth. He sucked and licked her burn gently, and it was her turn to blush crimson.

"Wh-why did you d-do that?" she asked, as he started wrapping her finger in a piece of cloth torn from his handkerchief.

"Come now, Guenevere, you were once the Healer's apprentice, you know that saliva is the best burn salve." (A/N: I don't know if this is true, I just heard it somewhere.)

"Yes, but I could've... Could've done it myself..." she said, still blushing furiously.

"Oh, but how else would I get to see you blush so brightly?" he said teasingly. She stopping blushing so hard, and instead grinned and pretended to slap him.

"Honestly! Doing something like that just to make a fool of someone! The Witch, nonetheless--"

She was caught by surprise again as Fai took her head in his hands, pulled her down, and kissed her.

How long the kiss lasted, she wasn't sure, but it felt like an eternity. It was a very innocent kiss, like how one would kiss their mother goodnight, but at the same time it was almost overwhelming. When he finally let her go, he sat up and drained his cup, his back to her, and softly said, "Thanks for the tea," before standing and heading into the hallway and into his room.

Guenevere simply sat stupefied for a moment, absorbed in her own thoughts. She stood up shakily and went to her bedroom, then changed into her nightclothes. Snuggling under her blankets, she yawned again and soon fell into an uneasy sleep.

Fai was in his room with Mokona. The little ball of fluff was asleep on his pillow, and the ninja in the bed opposite his was fast asleep as well. Fai gently woke Mokona.

"Akyew?" mumbled the tiny creature, looking at Fai. "What is it, Fai?"

"Mokona.. Do you... Please, can you get us out of here?" Mokona looked confused.

"Why does Fai want to leave? Does he not like this world?"

"It's... Please, can we go?" begged Fai, scooping Moko-chan into his hands.

"Mokona is sorry... Mokona can feel the feather in this world. We will have to stay here to get it." Fai smiled the fakest smile to date.

"Alright. Sorry I woke you. Goodnight, Mokona."

"Goodnight, Fai."

**-End Chapter One-**

UGH.

Please don't let an abysmal first chapter keep you from reading more... xDD;

Comments are loved:3


	2. Chapter 2

**HAYY!**

First, thanks for the comments:'D They're very, very appreciated. I wasn't going to update with chapter 2 so soon, but I decided to anyway! Yay.

As to addressing my commenters:

**Asuka02redeva:** Yeah, I've been beating myself up lately trying to decide whether or not to incorporate the lastest chapters, but since I plotted this out forever ago I don't feel like changing it. I already sort of planned out Fai's whole past and everything, for one (tailored, of course, to fit my story), and for two, I'm obscenely lazy. xD; But your second idea is pretty valuable. I'll have to remember it.

**Contrastnetwork: **Ack! Your comment seriously made my day. :'D Thank you so much!!

**Grey-Kitty: **Thanks! Funnily enough, I didn't add the ending scene until my second revision... I'm glad you like it so much, because re-reading it I was like, "There's no way he would be so accepting about being in Seresu." So I had to add that scene. xD

Another note... I'm a raging KuroxFai fangirl, believe it or not, and so while I'm very partial to my plot, it sometimes seems weird, since this is, in fact, a FaixGwen pairing. And as _another_ note, I don't like this chapter, either. C:

**-Chapter 2-**

Guenevere woke the next day very tired. The sky was still dark, but she guessed it had to be early morning. She groaned and sat up, stretched, and pulled herself out of bed, feeling around on the floor for her fur-lined slippers. She lay back on her bed, stretched luxuriously like a cat, and pulled her thick dark blue robe off the hook on her door. Walking through the hallway, she noticed that both Syaoran's and Sakura's and Kurogane's and Fai's doors were closed, and was sort of relieved. She didn't feel like facing anyone right now, and plus, she wanted to surprise them with breakfast, seeing as she hadn't been a very good hostess the previous day.

However, when she walked into the kitchen just off the living room, Fai was already there, softly humming a song she couldn't make out and leaning over a bowl, with flour, eggs, yeast, all the ingredients needed to make bread scattered around him. Looking up, he noticed Gwen, and smiled brightly. He was wearing his white undershirt with his lightest robe, with his black pants and furry slippers.

"Where did you get those slippers?..." Gwen asked suspiciously.

"Hmm? Oh, I snuck into your room a bit ago. You were fast asleep and so cute, I couldn't bear to wake you. I hope you don't mind," Fai said brightly, smiling sweetly. Gwen put an irritable look on her face and sat on the counter, putting her face into her hands.

"Why did you do it?"

Fai hesitated for a moment in the kneading of his bread, but continued and answered, "Well, my feet were cold and I didn't want to walk around barefoot--"

"I don't mean that, you idiot. Why did you kiss me?"

It looked like Fai didn't quite know how to answer, as he leaned over the bowl again, his copious bangs hiding his eyes.

"I... I'm not sure. It just... I... I don't know," murmured Fai. There was a rather pregnant pause.

"Do you wish I hadn't done it?"

It was Gwen's turn to be embarrassed. "Well... I don't know either. I... We were childhood friends... I've known you since I was born... There's barely a memory I have that doesn't have you in it somehow... Haha, you remember the time we broke into the castle? We were still both apprentices for the Wizard... And King Ashura was still a prince, and we all three snuck out of the castle and had a picnic on the far lawn?" She paused to giggle slightly. "We were gone all day, the King and Queen were furious..."

Fai laughed. "Yes, I remember that. That was before he turned moronic." This made Gwen really laugh, and the two of them had a fun time reflecting on their childhood, reminiscing about their most carefree times of their lives.

"...And then," said Fai, some 20 minutes later, "You stole the sword right out of the King's sheathe, and he didn't even notice until the Wizard pointed it out to him! The Queen thought it was hysterical, but the King... Now I know where Ashura gets it." Fai had finished baking his bread, and was now slicing it. He had put bacon and eggs on the stove, and they were sizzling loudly in the background. The anxiety and stress that had been present between the two of them had vanished with conversation. And as Kurogane and Syaoran walked into the kitchen, fully dressed, Fai and Guenevere were laughing heartily.

"Gotten over your frostiness, have you?" muttered Kurogane. Guenevere smiled apologetically and Fai turned around to face the stove, still chuckling.

"I'm sorry for having been such a terrible hostess, and for using bad language towards Fai last night," repeated Gwen. "He and I have-- well, for the most part-- worked out our differences. I'm very sorry for having treated my guests the way I did." Guenevere bowed low, blushing softly.

"Oh, r-really, it's not a problem," Syaoran said quickly, "Fai-san, is that breakfast?"

Fai nodded and said, "I hope everyone's hungry, I made a bit too much. Guenevere, you have quite a well-stocked kitchen, I'm impressed."

Gwen had to laugh at this one. "Yeah, I know, but the funny thing is, I can't cook very well. I'm glad you're here, Fai, you seem to have quite a lot of skill."

"Heh, I'm not sure where I get it, actually..."

Guenevere laughed, and then looked around. "And where might the Princess be? Still sleeping?"

"Yes, she was sleeping so soundly I didn't want to wake her," said Syaoran. "She's still in a pretty delicate state, and... Well, I wanted her to sleep. She might be awake now, though."

"I'll go see if she is, I don't want her to miss breakfast," said Gwen, sliding off the counter gracefully and heading out the door, walking down the hallway and stopping at the first door on the left. She knocked twice and softly called the Princess's name, then opened the door and found the young girl sitting up in the bed, reading a book. Sakura looked up and smiled.

"Are you enjoying that book?" said Guenevere cheerfully.

"Actually, I can't understand your language at all. I just think the pictures are lovely," said Sakura, smiling even wider. Guenevere sat on the edge of the bed.

"Listen, I have to apologize again for last night. I was very rude. Will you forgive me, Your Highness?" Gwen asked apologetically.

"Oh, don't worry. I don't mind. And you don't need to call me that, I'd much rather prefer to be called Sakura." The Princess laughed. "How ironic that you should call me that when you're the temporary ruler of this country, eh?"

"You know, it is, now I think of it." Gwen smiled back at Sakura, and said, "You should get dressed, breakfast is ready. Fai's really outdone himself this time." The Witch's eyes looked down, where on the floor, Sakura's clothes were neatly folded. "Oh, you'll definitely need some new clothes, those won't be _nearly_ warm enough. I think everyone but Fai and I will need new clothes. But for now, I think you can borrow something of mine, for the time being. I'll see if I can find my old apprentice robes, hold on..." Gwen left the room and ran into hers, raiding her closet, eventually finding the robes at the bottom of a pile. A quick cleaning spell later, she rushed back into Sakura's room and handed her the thick white robes. "I hope they fit, they look about your size..." Sakura got up and tried them on.

"Yes, they fit very well. Thank you very much." The Princess paused. "By the way, what should I call you?"

"Oh, Guenevere is fine, or Gwen, if Guenevere is too hard for you to say," Gwen said.

"So... Guenevere-san?"

"Eh?" Gwen said, not understanding why she added 'san' to the end.

"Oh, aren't you familiar with honorifics?"

"No, actually. We don't use them in Seresu."

"That's odd," said the young girl, "Everywhere else we've been has used them."

"Very odd. Well, shall we get going? I can smell breakfast from here." And indeed, fumes of breakfast wafted into the room through the open door, and someone called Sakura and Guenevere's names. Gwen smiled and stood, and called back that they were coming. The Princess bent down to lift a waking Mokona from her blankets. After making sure that Sakura was following her, the Witch headed into the kitchen, and there she saw Syaoran and Kurogane already tucking into their breakfast, and eating with fervor.

"I see you two are hungry," laughed Guenevere, offering the last stool to Sakura and summoning another for herself.

"Wow, Fai-san, that smells amazing!" said Sakura, eyes wide, a happy smile on her face. Syaoran looked down the counter at her, blushing slightly. When he noticed Guenevere glance at him knowingly he took an unnecessarily large gulp of his milk and proceeded to choke on it a bit, spilling some down his shirt. Gwen tried her best not to laugh; thankfully she had been the only one to notice. After everyone had eaten their fill Guenevere called for their attention, saying that since this world was very cold, she and Fai would go shopping for food and clothing for all five people and one... Mokona. Mokona made a sound that sounded oddly like 'kyah' before diving into Kurogane's shirt, the latter immediately struggling to pull the slippery creature out.

"Shall we go then?" said Fai politely, offering his arm to Guenevere after they had bundled appropriately for the bitingly cold air of Seresu.

"I s'pose, I just wish I could wear earmuffs, it's so hard on my ears to keep them exposed all the time," said the Witch, wrapping a thick scarf around her neck, pulling a black beret firmly onto her blonde head and taking the man's arm, guiding him out the door with a final farewell to Syaoran, Sakura, and the still fighting Kurogane and Mokona.

The village of Seresu was a very peaceful one, with its inhabitants especially loving of their new Witch. Gwen must have waved to everyone she saw down the street, each of them smiling back widely and waving as well. A small girl no older than seven rushed up to her at one point and forced a cup of hot chocolate into the woman's hands before asking politely who the man she was with was.

"You probably wouldn't remember him because you're so young, Charlotte, but he was the Wizard before I became Witch. His name is Fai Flowright," she said, smiling sweetly, as the little girl waved shyly at the tall ex-Wizard. He smiled back gently and bent down to her, then whispered something in her ear that made Charlotte giggle and sneak a glance up at the Witch before taking the cup back (Gwen having drained it) and heading back to her house and clutching her mother's skirt, who waved at Gwen. Gwen smiled cheerily and pulled Fai along with her.

"What on earth did you tell her?" demanded Gwen, still clutching Fai's arm tightly, waving to yet another villager.

"Oh, just that you were in love with me, and that I can kiss you whenever I wish." Gwen's eyes widened and she smacked his upper arm.

"You little--" started Gwen, but she was cut off by Fai who smiled innocently and said, "Can you deny it?" As if to verify this statement, he pulled her into a deserted alley and pushed Gwen against a wall, putting his face very close to hers and pausing just before their lips made contact. Guenevere's breath hitched in her throat and stood utterly still, eyes closed, very conscious of Fai's body against hers. Fai proceeded to giggle at her crimson face and simply rubbed his nose against hers before releasing her from his grasp. Gwen's eyes opened in surprise and annoyance. She continued to stay where she was for a moment until Fai grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the street, winking at Charlotte who doubled over in silent laughter with her small hand clasped firmly over her mouth. Guenevere shook herself mentally and waited until Charlotte could no longer see them before punching Fai, who laughed meekly and rubbed his shoulder. He was the type who bruised easily.

They finally reached their destination, the tailor's. Opening the door, they were greeted by the storeowner, a young woman no older than Guenevere. They seemed to be very good friends, as they embraced and whispered in each other's ears for a moment before giggling and linking arms as so many girls did. The other young lady was very attractive as well, with short dark red hair, palest ivory skin, and dark green eyes. Her dress brought out her eyes, seeing as it too was dark green, and was thick and made of velvet. Fai couldn't help but recognize her from somewhere, but he couldn't quite place her. She had a tape measure around her neck and a mischievous look on her face. She seemed a lot like Guenevere, really.

"So, Gwen, what do you need this time?"

"Well, I've got visitors, so I'll need--"

"Wait a moment! You never told me you had visitors, when did they come in?"

"Oh, just last night. There're four of them, total, but I only need three outfits."

"And why's that?"

"Because one of them-- Fai-- Is already from Seresu."

"Fai?" asked Gwen's friend, aghast. Fai stepped up to Gwen, whose friend noticed that she was blushing slightly.

"That would be me, Fai Flowright. Surely you remember me?" he said courteously, bowing slightly. The girl's widened in surprise.

"Well! What a surprise! It's been months since we last saw you! Really surprising, really, considering that you disappeared the same night King Ashura was put to sleep. We all thought you had been killed in the massacre, but we never found your body, so we figured you must have just gone somewhere. Where did you go, anyway?" she said, talking somewhat faster in her enthusiasm to see him again.

"I went to another world, to tell you the truth," he said, smiling serenely. There was something odd about that smile, Gwen noticed. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Another world! That's quite something! We always knew you were quite the powerful magician. We were all hit hard by the loss of our wonderful Wizard. Especially Guenevere, she always said how you were such a wonderful teacher for her, and her best friend and all that. It's funny that she was your apprentice, seeing as you two are only-- what? Less than a year apart?" she inquired, speaking at a normal pace again in a content voice. Fai quite liked this girl, and if sudden memories served him right, he thought he remembered her from his childhood. Most of his memories included Gwen, though, and since he had really only focused on her presence since he returned, it was difficult to call back the names of others in them.

"I'm sorry," said Fai, "I don't seem to remember your name, though I do remember you... I'm terrible with names, please forgive me," he added apologetically.

The girl laughed warmly. "Don't worry, you and I weren't as good of friends as you and Gwen. I'm Beatrix," she said, offering her hand to shake Fai's. However, he supposedly mistook the sign and kissed her hand, smiling sweetly at her.

"You're so cute, it's no wonder Gwen always talks so much about you," she giggled. Fai blushed a bit but smiled even wider.

"Aaaand... What all does she say?"

If looks could kill, both Fai and Beatrix would have been dead. Indeed, Guenevere's death glare was very intimidating.

The two continued to chat while Guenevere scooted away from them, not wanting to listen to much of their conversation. She felt as if Beatrix was accidentally-on-purpose embarrassing her, and she didn't want to have to listen to her. Instead, she looked through Beatrix's stores of clothing, choosing what she thought would look and fit best on each guest. After a while of contemplating and choosing, she heard Fai and Beatrix laughing loudly from across the shop, no doubt talking about her.

"Are you ready yet, Gwen?" Beatrix called, skipping over to her best friend and taking some of the load of clothing off the Witch's hands.

"Yes, I think so," she said, and carried the load over to the counter, where she paid (receiving both the 'Leader of the Country" discount and the "Best Friend of the Store Owner" discount) and shrankthe clothes until they could fit a hand puppet, putting them into two bags for easy carrying. "Thanks, Beatrix, come over to my house some time and you can meet everyone, alright?"

"Sounds great! I'll come over tonight, how's that sound?"

"Wonderful," said Fai excitedly. Beatrix smiled.

Once out of the shop, the Witch and Wizard each carrying a bag, Gwen smacked Fai's arm for the third time that day.

"You should probably stop doing that, unless you want my arm to fall off," said Fai meekly. Gwen chose to ignore him.

"You little sneak, talking about me behind my back! And hitting on my best friend, while you're at it! I can't believe you!" she exclaimed, laughing slightly in spite of herself. Fai laughed too, but more softly.

"I wouldn't flirt with your best friend, I thought you would know me better than that by now. Besides, she's not really my type."

"Oh? And what might you're type be?"

"I'm more into blonde Witches."

This statement took a moment to sink in, but when Gwen turned to look at him, he had already looked the other way and started humming to himself again. When they reached the marketplace, it was full of shoppers, most of which seeming to know Gwen personally. Almost all of those people also knew Fai personally as well, and it brought back memories from his time living in Seresu to be able to talk with them all. He'd forgotten how much he really loved Seresu.

Shopping took much longer than either of them had expected, but after about an hour and a half they were finally done. Fai had even persuaded Guenevere to buy some alcohol, saying that that night they should have a party, seeing as Beatrix was even coming over. Plus, it was supposedly a good year for wine, so Gwen couldn't say no. Now laden with many bags, the two hiked back down the narrow streets until they reached Gwen's cottage on the outskirts of the village, sort of near the castle. Opening the door, they found the three other humans and Mokona in the kitchen, Syaoran and Sakura cooking something under the supervision of Kurogane, who seemed only half-heartedly interested in what they were doing.

"We're back!" announced Fai cheerfully, setting everything down on the counter. Kurogane noticed the alcohol and glared at Fai.

"I hope you're not planning on getting everyone drunk."

Fai grinned unabashedly and unpacked the several bottles, some of which contained not just wine, but something similar to vodka and whisky. Fai licked his lips in anticipation.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure no one gets too drunk," Gwen said fiercely, glaring at Fai, who smiled meekly. Kurogane found it interesting that under his own scolding and disapproval the Wizard seemed apathetic, yet with only a few words out of this young woman's mouth the man trembled.

"I think the Wizard should spend more time with you. You'd be a good influence on him," mumbled Kurogane, his chin resting in his hand. All Gwen could do was smile and begin to unpack their bags, passing out their clothes after restoring them to their proper sizes. While everyone put their pajamas away and changed into their new, warmer clothes, Fai and Gwen sat in the kitchen, Fai trying to open the first bottle of wine, and Guenevere slapping his hand if he should reach for anything remotely close to the bottles. A little after everyone had changed, Beatrix came with her own bottle of her strongest alcohol. This seemed to interest Kuro a bit, and Beatrix poured him a shot when she noticed the look in his eyes, but not before warning him that it wasn't for the faint of heart. She wouldn't give any to Fai, but she and Guenevere each had about two shots each while he begged. Finally Keira let him have some, but when he drank it, it proved to be a bit too strong for him, seeing as his eyes grew wide and he had to wash it down with several gulps of wine. However, he was quite the lush when it came to the whiskey. Even Sakura and Syaoran got into the action, and soon it seemed that everyone except for Kuro and Gwen was completely drunk.

"How come you're not with them?" the ninja asked, nodding towards the four, who were dancing around to music coming from the enchanted instruments Gwen and Beatrix had told to play as entertainment. Beatrix and Fai were dancing to it while Syaoran and Sakura goofed off on the couch, play-wrestling and occasionally being pulled up by Fai and Beatrix to dance along side them. Gwen laughed.

"Me, get drunk? And possibly have Fai take advantage of me?" She laughed, only half-joking. "Yeah right, I'd rather have my wits about me. I'm sure you feel the same."

Kurogane nodded. "Besides, sometimes when you're drunk you let slip something you would prefer to be kept secret."

They were interrupted when Fai fell down, pulling Beatrix with him. The resulting crash made Beatrix and Fai start laughing loudly, accompanied by Sakura and Syaoran, who also fell to the floor beside them.

"I think it's time we went to bed, what do you think?" asked Gwen.

Kurogane grinned wolfishly. He definitely liked this girl. "Couldn't have put it better myself."

It took quite a while to get everyone in bed. Kuro had been put in charge of Sakura and Syaoran, whom he locked in their room, ignoring their cries of protest. Gwen had to put Fai and Beatrix to bed, which proved to be much harder than she had thought. Beatrix was difficult, seeing as she kept insisting on walking home, and refused Gwen's offers to let her stay the night, or to at least walk her home. Conceding in defeat, Guenevere made sure that her friend had fastened her cloak securely around her neck and had put her hat on her head, making sure to cover her ears. After bidding Beatrix goodnight and seeing her out the door, Guenevere turned around to face Fai, who was curled on the chaise lounge. Kurogane offered to take him to bed, but Gwen protested, saying that she would have him sleep in the loft bed in the attic, seeing as she too was growing fond of Kurogane, and knew him enough already to know that he would not want to sleep in the same room as Fai while he was completely drunk. Kurogane thanked her and bid her goodnight before heading off to bed.

After telling the instruments to stop playing the house seemed oddly quiet. She guessed that the kids had gone to bed, as their room was quiet, and that Kuro had also turned in. She got Fai to stand up and walk up the stairs at the end of the hallway easily enough, but when he lay down in bed he pulled her down with him, cradling her in his arms.

"Don't leave me..." he murmured, his eyes half open and glassy. He clung to her tighter and buried his face in her hair. Guenevere was caught off guard and shook herself mentally to regain her wits.

"Fai, let go, you need to go to sleep..." she said firmly, and she pulled herself out of his weakened grip. He groaned and curled into a ball, whimpering slightly. She knelt down beside the bed, petting his hair and cooing to him softly, like how a mother would to a frightened child. This seemed to calm him and he put up less of a fuss, pulling his arms up to his chest and falling into a light doze. She realized he was still fully dressed and pulled off his boots and gloves, hesitating to take off his shirt. She remembered his pajamas downstairs and retrieved them, steeling herself by saying that he wouldn't remember this in the morning anyway.

She managed to get his pajama bottoms on without too much blushing and embarrassment, trying not to look at him too much, but his arms were curled so tightly to his chest that it took a while to pry them off and remove his jacket and shirt, leaving him completely bare-chested. Once she had him half naked again, Guenevere couldn't help but stop and admire his lithe frame, frowning at how very thin he was. More ribs than she knew was healthy were showing and his stomach was slightly caved in, giving him a malnourished, unhealthy look. She would have to start feeding him more, and make him lay off the alcohol. She pulled his arms through the sleeves of his pajamas a little awkwardly, but before she could button up the front Fai woke up and put up a pretty good fight, rolling onto his stomach and refusing to be turned over. Getting frustrated, Guenevere leaned in and whispered seductively into his ear, knowing that if this didn't work, nothing would. He smiled slightly and opened his eyes, then pulled Gwen in and, for the second time, pressed his lips against hers, giggling weakly as he did so.

It wasn't so shocking the second time, but it was surprising nonetheless. After kissing her, Fai fell asleep again, and Gwen buttoned the buttons and pulled the covers up to Fai's chin before leaving the room and walking quickly into her own, shutting the door behind her and flinging herself onto the bed, frowning. She changed into her own pajamas before cuddling under her blankets, wondering why Fai had kissed her again. Was it simply because he was dead drunk? No, he had been completely sober (as far as she knew) when he had kissed her the first time, so that couldn't be it. With these confusing thoughts drifting around her mind, Guenevere fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming about nothing in particular, but having fleeting views of wispy blonde hair in all of them, and the same soft blue eyes.

**-End Chapter 2-**

And so another chapter ends. I'll probably wait a bit longer until I upload chapter 3, since I need to catch up with myself a bit on my writing. The entire story so far is over 22,000 words long. o.o; And it still isn't finished.

Comments are loved most verily. C:


	3. Chapter 3

**HEYY**

Ack! Sorry this is so late! I meant to upload this ages ago... But I've been so darn busy lately I'm lucky to have this little opening in my schedule, truthfully. Last week was finals week and so I was cramming lyk srsly to pass my Government final... God, I hate Government. It's the most useless class ever required. But yeah, I have an opening of maybe 20 minutes right now (my only opening is on Sunday; how pathetic!) so I was like, "I HAVE TO UPDATE!" So I am! Yay!

Also, sorry this is so short... But if it's any consolation, this is the last chapter before it starts getting to the point where I can begin to tolerate my writing:'D Joy!

**Chapter Three**

Guenevere was prodded awake the next morning by the Princess, who wore a wide smile and her new pajamas. She had her white robe on as well.

"Guenevere-san, Fai-san made breakfast again, and it smells great, I thought you might want to be woken..." whispered the young girl sweetly, still smiling and blushing slightly. Gwen yawned and stretched luxuriously like a cat.

"Ah," yawned Gwen. "Thank you, Sakura." She smiled thankfully at the young girl. She pulled herself out bed, unlatching her dressing gown from the back of the door and heading out of the room with Sakura leading the way. An amazing smell wafted throughout the house and Gwen was reminded of the days of her youth, when her mother would make breakfast like this on the cold winter days, and her older brother would wake her with his loving kisses all over her face. She was still smiling serenely when she entered the kitchen, she and the Princess sliding onto the stools and Gwen gasping as she saw the elaborate breakfast the Wizard had prepared for them. There was porridge, bacon, fresh fruit, bagels with cream cheese, jam, and butter, muffins, and other such breakfast-y items.

"You are aware, of course, that you are feeding five people and one... Mokona, right? You're not feeding the entire village," laughed Gwen, poking Fai in the chest and ladeling porrige into a bowl. He smiled broadly.

"Of course, Ginny, but Kuro-chan seems to have an insatiable apetite, and I was worried that if I didn't make enough there wouldn't be enough for our two Princesses!" teased Fai, smiling innocently at a grumpy Kurogane, who in turn tried to swat the magician, but the blonde man dodged him easily and hid behind Gwen.

"'Ginny?'" inquired Syaoran, glancing curiously at the two blondes down the counter.

"Oh, Ginny was our little nickname for Guenevere when we were children," said Fai happily. "Ah, those were good days, weren't they?" he directed at Gwen, who pretended to frown and push him away.

"Anyway," said Fai, becoming serious again (or as serious as the young man could make himself at that moment), "I was thinking that maybe we could give these three a tour of the lovely town of Seresu, what do you think?"

Syaoran and Sakura looked excited, while Kurogane was as impassive as ever. Fai made puppy eyes at Guenevere, who took her time finishing the last bites of her porridge, then said, "Yes, I suppose we could do that."

Fai, Syaoran, and Sakura cheered, while Kuro simply shrugged to let her know he had heard her. Guenevere smiled. "Then I guess we can go after breakfast." She paused, then grinned and directed to Fai, "Should we show them?"

Fai seemed to know what she was talking about and returned her playful smile, nodding enthusiasticly. "Oh, yes, definitely." They both giggled to themselves momentarily, causing everyone else to be slighty afraid for a moment, but then the two were back to normal and telling everyone to get dressed, still smirking slightly.

"Damn, it's cold..." muttered Kurogane, bundled heavily against the icy winds.

"Well, we are very far north, and it is winter," murmered Guenevere, equally bundled and shivvering slightly. Fai and the kids were busy. They had all walked to the edge of the country-- literally, the edge. Seresu was a country held up by vast wings enchanted onto the castle, and thus, was floating in the air, and it was always a shock to see for the first time the endless space around the floating town. It was connected by drawbridges to the other villages making up Seresu, the nearest of floating islands holding up the magnificent marble castle to the west of them. The young teenagers were busy looking over the edge, marveling at the sheer enormity of the space they were in. There were other floating countries below them, and they made up a spherical world, which Guenevire knew spun around a very large star very far away. This gave them their seasons, and in turn, their source of life and warmth. However, it really was incredible to look over the edge of the world and see nothing beneath you, and it made everyone see how very small they really were.

"Are you too cold?" asked Guenevere, scanning his muscular form with a critical eye.

"I'll live," murmured Kurogane, hands deep in his pockets and mouth hidden behind a thick scarf. "Where I come from, winter is practically warm in comparison to this."

"We get that a lot." Guenevere studied his face out of the corner of her eye. He had tanned skin and a strong jaw (which she knew previously, since she could not see any part of his face from the nose down), with narrowed red eyes and thick black eyebrows. His black spikey hair stuck out from under his thick wool hat and his breath came in long puffs of steam through the scarf. She could tell he was very cold, and after making her mind in a moment, pressed herself against him, linking arms with him. Had she seen his face she probably would have laughed at his shock, and if she had been any other person he probably would have pushed her away. However, there was just something about her, something that was simultaneously gentle but insistent, and he couldn't resist it. He vaguely remembered Princess Tomoyo being the same way. Kurogane sighed inwardly, and the tall ninja allowed himself to be warmed by her thin form.

Fai, Syaoran, and Sakura were busy having a snowball fight. Syaoran and Sakura had gained up against Fai and he had to constantly dodge their incessant pelting, Sakura laughing joyfully as Fai dove into the snow and conceded defeat. The Princess hugged Syaoran around the neck, who blushed crimson but returned her hug. Fai smiled at Syaoran, who blushed even deeper. Sakura, thankfully, seemed not to notice. Fai stood and brushed some of the snow off of his cloak, dusting it out of his wispy hair.

"Hey! Father and I made these when we travelled to a country with snow a long time ago," said the young archaeologist, lying flat on his back in the snow and moving his arms and legs up and down to make a snow angel. He stood carefully and admired the effect.

"Oooh! I want to try," said the young Princess, imitating the teenager and admiring her own work.

"Very nice," said Fai approvingly, patting the two on the head and bending down to smooth out a patch of untouched snow. He then drew out a complicated sort of diagram, smiling as he did so. The two teenagers looked on curiously.

"Fai-san, what are you doing?" asked Syaoran. Fai said nothing, but smiled wider. He wove his hand over the spell, which disappeared into the snow and left it as if the powder had never been disturbed in the first place. Out of the pile rose a small snow sculpture in the shape of a cat, which Fai picked up gently and showed the two kids before running over to Guenevere and Kurogane to show them.

Guenevere laughed at him. "Fai, you're such a little kid sometimes," she said, lifting an arm to pat him on the head. He looked gleeful and moved onto Kurogane, who was blushing slightly at having to rely on someone to keep him warm.

The tall man 'hmphed' and turned his head away from Fai, but the magician would not give up that easy.

"Praise me, praise me, Kuro-chan!" said Fai happily, tugging on the ninja's free arm, causing the latter to look somewhat violated.

"... Well..."

"Yesssssss?"

"... Oh, shut up already and leave me alone," Kuro said gruffly, causing Fai to laugh his pleasant, tinkling laugh.

"Oh, Kuro-rin, you're so funny!" he trilled, ruffling what little hair stuck out from beneath the man's hat. Kurogane looked ready to kill the playful Wizard, so Guenevere decided to intervene.

"Well, then, shall we go?" she said, glancing meaningfully at Fai, who sighed and set the tiny cat sculpture in the snow before linking arms with Guenevere. She was now in between two tall, handsome men, and she tried not to laugh. Syaoran and Sakura followed not far behind, Sakura blushing as she reached for the young man's hand. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Guenevere saw Syaoran's eyes get that familiar look of a bittersweet memory being remembered, who gazed at Sakura with a soft, sweet, almost sad look in his eyes. Gwen had not yet been told the story of why exactly this odd group of people were travelling together, but she could guess that it revolved around Sakura and Syaoran. She decided that tonight she would ask him exactly why they were travelling in between the dimensions.

The Witch and Wizard decided that they might as well stop in the tavern for a pick-me-up. Openning the heavy wooden doors, Kurogane, Syaoran, and Sakura were glad for its toasty warmth. A young, attractive waiter immeditaly rushed to Gwen with a steaming mug of sweet tea before she had even sat down. He smiled pleasantly at everyone else, taking their orders for drinks and return barely two minutes later before heading back behind the bar with a deep bow for everyone and a kiss on the hand for his Queen. Fai watched him leave and glanced at the mage, as though looking for reassurance that he was only a friend of hers, but Gwen was already drinking deeply from her mug and seemed not to notice him.

**End Chapter Three**

I promise to try and update soon!!


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, I should probably update more regularly, but I've been insanely busy the last couple of days and I've had no time for anything at all, really. I'm snatching the computer for the twenty minutes I have between appointments and updating! Yay! Anyway. I'm also busy because I've been writing up a manuscript for an original story I've begun. I'm quite fond of it, and so I've been putting a lot of work into that and neglecting this, unfortunately. But I did put in a good couple of pages late last night, so hopefully I will get to the climax soon! I'm pretty sure I know how I'm going to end this, but... Well, I can't decide between two possible endings, so I've decided I'm going to write them both and let my readers decide which they like best. x3

Enough ranting from the authoress! On to the story! (We are on chapter four, right?...)

**Chapter Four**

Gwen sighed as she shut her door. It was dark and warm in her room, and she sat on the edge of her bed, staring in the direction of her floor. Everyone else was already in bed, probably asleep by now, and the house was quiet. Gwen was used to a silent house-- she'd lived on her own long enough to be used to it-- but now it was heavier, more weighty. She couldn't understand why. It was indeed different to be housing four more people and she supposed her mind was still getting used to it. She sighed again and laid back on her pillows, staring at her ceiling.

It still didn't feel quite right.

Maybe it was the shock of seeing she had, for the last several months, believed to be dead. Someone who... No. She wouldn't think of him like that. She loved Fai, that was certain, but... He was like another older brother to her. And if she felt anything more than that she would squish those feelings until they had gone away. Falling in love with Fai would be a mistake. A giant mistake. A mistake she could never afford to make. But then again, when he looked at her... With those eyes of his... And when he kissed her...

She was so _confused_.

As if on cue, she heard a knock at the door. She shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She heard the door open, then a pause. The door shut again and she heard soft feet padding up to her bed. It sank down a bit at about her hips, but she kept her eyes shut, trying to keep her breathing even.

"... Ginny, there's no use pretending. I've known you long enough to know when you're really sleeping."

Gwen didn't move. She heard Fai sigh, and felt him stand again. For a moment she thought he was leaving and felt a mix of relief and loneliness, but her eyes fluttered open in surprise as she felt Fai lay on the bed behind her, spooning her tightly and wrapping his arm around her waist. She shut her eyes again, feeling herself blushing and thankful it was dark in her room.

Fai nestled himself closer to Gwen, burying his face into the crook of her neck. He knew this would provoke her to say something. As if to emphasize the point, his lips found her pulse at her collarbone and he felt her shivver.

"You can't pretend you're asleep anymore." He nibbled at her neck and felt her convulse very slightly beneath him. He relished at the power she was unconciously giving him.

"... Why are you here?" She whispered. Her eyes were shut tight and her breathing was becoming laboured. Her skin was hot, but his was hotter. His fiery touch was on her neck, her stomach, her back... His legs were curled, and hers curled around them. Everywhere he was touching her she broke out in goosebumps. He bit her neck again, tongue laving while his lips sucked gently. She let out a soft whine and her lips parted as she gave breathy moans from them. Fai knew where she was most sensitive to his touches and exploited this knowledge. He knew that soon he would have complete control over her.

"No, Fai. Stop..." She moaned against the fingers at her lips. He hadn't really expected that.

"Then talk to me."

"F-fine..."

He immediately unspooned her, taking back his hands, and he sat up and crossed his long legs. She lay still for a moment, catching her breath and calming her nerves. All of her senses seemed on hyperdrive; she could hear Kurogane's deep breathing in the room across the hall, feel Fai's presence behind her. She could feel the cool moist spots on her neck where his lips had been. Finally she sat up and crossed her legs too, facing Fai.

"What do you want?" Gwen demanded, glaring at him with a pink stain in her cheeks.

"We need to talk."

"Obviously, or else you wouldn't be demanding a conversation. What do you need to talk about?"

"... Well, I.." Fai wasn't quite sure how to put what he was feeling into words. He took a breath and mumbled, "Well, I don't really know how to ask this."

"Just come out with it."

"... Since I've been... Gone... Have you been with any other men?" There was a pause. It grew longer until...

"Are you serious?"

Fai frowned."Of course." He was quite surprised when Gwen burst out in muffled giggles. In fact, she was laughing so hard that she had to fall back into her pillows. Fai frowned even more, feeling somewhat violated.

"Why are you laughing?!" He murmured, sounding a little hurt. Gwen sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I've never heard you so serious over so ridiculous a question. It's just a bit surprising, that's all." She kept giggling. Fai was offended, it seemed.

"Well, I'm sorry for wasting your time with 'ridiculous' questions. I'll be sure never to do it again." And with that he slid off the bed and stormed out of the room. This wiped the grin off Gwen's face immediately.

"No, Fai, wait--"

But he was already gone. She didn't hear his door open, but she heard the creak of stairs as he stomped up to the loft. A sense of dread was creeping up her throat, hot and burning like bile. She stood and followed him through the door and up the stairs.

When she reached the top, she saw Fai sitting at the windowseat, looking out through the remarkably clear window at the snow falling upon the village. His breath was fogging the glass. She hesitated, then walked over to the bed, sitting on it. She looked down at her hands.

"... I'm sorry."

Fai didn't move, but his features softened. He leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes.

"... I haven't been with anyone else."

Fai did move at this; he turned to look at Gwen with a curious expression on his face. It was a mix of sadness, apology, and many other emotions he didn't know how to express verbally. He sat up straight as Gwen put her head in her hands.

"Gwen.." He was up in an instant, speeding to the bed, sitting next to Gwen and wrapping his arms around her. He felt her take a shuddering breath, and upon closer inspection saw that her hands were wet with tears.

"Why are you crying?" He whispered, a little afraid of the answer. Her answer came back rather muffled, as she hadn't taken away her hands.

"I'm sorry... It's just... For six months I think my best friend is dead, then you come back and act as if nothing is wrong... And then you avoid giving any sort of excuse or explanation as to why you left in the first place." She took a deep breath. "... I'm sorry. I just feel extremely happy and relieved, but sad and upset and angry at the same time and... Now I don't know what to think."

"... Look at me." Gwen lifted her head and turned to look at him, her cheeks wet with tears. He held her tightly, pulling her into his chest. Her arms snaked around his torso, holding onto him as if her life depended on it.

"I'm the one who should be sorry." Fai whispered, his hand on Gwen's head. He felt her sob again and felt hot tears in his own eyes. "I didn't stop to think what effect this would have on you." He gulped. "If I had been in your position..." Fai imagined his reaction if he was told out of the blue that Gwen was dead. He suddenly found himself incapable of speaking. A lump seemed lodged in his throat, and he couldn't get the words out. Gwen, however, got the message. She lifted her head and saw a single tear fall down his cheek. Their eyes met, then as if thinking the same thing, they pressed their lips together.

After what could have been several seconds, several minutes, or several hours, they broke apart. Neither said anything. The silence spoke for itself. Fai gently wiped away Gwen's tears, and she hugged him again. He held her and kissed the top of her head.

"... Should we... Go to bed now?" Fai asked, voice soft, head resting on hers.

"I don't want to go back to my room," Gwen murmured against his chest.

"I think I can share my bed for one night."

Gwen slid under the covers. Fai still had to change into his pajamas. He pulled on his pajama pants, then pulled off his shirt.

"Fai?" Came a quiet voice from the bed. He turned around and saw Gwen on her back, her left hand on his pillow and her right across her chest. The moon cast its light across her ivory skin, making her look white as a ghost. Except her lips-- they were red, red from her tears, red from being kissed. Her long, dark eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks. Her hair was silvery, and splayed across the pillow beneath her. She looked ethereal.

"... I think I love you."

The sincerety and soft hesitation in her voice could've knocked him over. It was then that he realised the true extent of his feelings for her, and with a sudden disregard for his shirt he slid under the covers next to her. His arms wrapped around her slender waist, and he felt her arms tuck in as she pressed herself against his chest. He smiled for the first time that night and took a breath.

"I think I love you too."

Gwen woke the next morning to an empty bed. She blinked in the soft light from the window. Fai had drawn closed the creamy gossamer curtains, presumably when he had woken, and the room was bathed in the muted white sunlight. It was very quiet. The white sheets were soft against her skin.

She closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, she sat up and sat on the edge of the bed. Standing, she walked over to the wardrobe, opening it and pulling on a thin, satiny robe. She took a deep breath. She took another. Then she set her hand on the banister and slowly walked down the stairs.

Fai was laying on the chaise, looking at the ceiling without really seeing it. When Gwen appeared at the entrance to the living room, he looked at her and smiled.

"Good morning."

Gwen couldn't answer. She walked forward and sat on the edge of the chaise, eyes averted from Fai's. His hand found hers and their fingers entwined.

"You look like you want to say something," said Fai. Gwen had a rather grim, remorseful look on her face. She took a deep breath.

"Last night shouldn't have happened." Fai had expected this, and he let her continue. Gwen paused, as if thinking Fai would say something, so when he didn't she kept talking. "I'm... The ruler of a country. You've got another agenda to attend to, finding Sakura's feathers. And I know that soon you will have to leave again. And no matter how we feel, I cannot abandon my post." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Fai, but as much as we want this to work, it can't." She looked down at Fai's hand gently stroking hers.

"I knew that you'd say something like that." Fai sighed.

"Then you know why I'm saying it."

Fai mulled it over. She did have a point. He could not abandon Sakura's quest now, and Seresu would not be able to handle another period without a ruler, not in their currently fragile state. Fai looked at the ceiling again. He sighed.

"You're right, as always."

"But," he said, sitting up and putting his hands on either side of Gwen's face, "That doesn't mean we shouldn't cherish the time we have together." He kissed her gently. Gwen could think of nothing to say to that.

They broke apart. Gwen licked her lips, and after a moment, said, "Where are the kids?"

Fai smiled as he imagined Kuro's face when the Kishiim in Koryo had called them children, and couldn't help but wonder what he reaction to Gwen calling him a 'kid' would be.

"I sent them on a quest this morning. I knew that you and I should be alone, to... Work out the details." He smiled at her, and was relieved to see Gwen return it.

"You know..." said Gwen, staring at their hands again, "I think we always were sort of in love. As kids ourselves, I mean." Fai nodded.

"I think you're right. Especially after that one incident when we were fourteen. Well, I was fourteen, you were thirteen... D'you remember?" Gwen laughed meekly.

"I'd forgotten. But thank you oh-so much for reminding me... We were young and naive and we decided that we would be lovers if a flower said so. So we pulled off petal by petal reciting, "We'll be lovers, we won't be lovers," until one was left... And that day we became lovers. Even though we didn't actually know what that meant..." Fai sighed and smiled.

"You know... We could always be lovers now instead." Gwen looked at Fai, rather nonplussed.

"What are you implying?" Gwen asked, hardly daring to believe what Fai was suggesting. He just smiled and leaned in for another kiss.

**End Chapter Four**

GET READY FOR ANGST BECAUSE IT'S WHAT'LL BE IN THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey! This chapter continues the angsting! I rather like this chapter, sort of. It's pretty long, too. It would have gone on longer, but... I decided to cut it off lest it go on and on forever.

By the way! Interested as to how I see Gwen in my mind's eye? Well, I've drawn her quite a few times and I'd like to share some illustrations! Hopefully these work. --;  
The first is a picture that I actually drew quite a while ago. It's Fai, glomping Gwen. Cuz yeah.  
h t t p / i 1 2 2 . p h o t o b u c k e t . c o m / a l b u m s / o 2 5 7 / P e n n y J a s p e r / 6 c 3 9 3 a d 4 3 b . p n g  
And, um, a more recent picture of Gwen and a character you haven't met yet... But you'll meet him soon. I love him quite dearly. x3  
h t t p / i 1 2 2 . p h o t o b u c k e t . c o m / a l b u m s / o 2 5 7 / P e n n y J a s p e r / f i g h t n g c o n t e s t m e l o n . p n g  
And, uh, just a sexy picture I drew of Gwen, because I felt like it.  
h t t p / i 12 2 . p ho t o b u c k e t . c o m / a l b u m s / o 2 5 7 / P e n n y J a s p e r / b l u e G w e n . p n g  
And fine, one more. This is the illustration I drew of the ending scene last chapter. I had this picture stuck very firmly in my mind's eye and I had to draw it. I won't ever colour it, though, because I would kill it.  
h t t p / i 1 2 2 . p h o t o b u c k e t . c o m / a l b u m s / o 2 5 7/ P e n n y J a s p e r / 9 e 8 1 a 6 c 7 a 1 . p n g  
Sorry, that's a nightmare, I know. But it's the only way I can figure out how to post these without the link deleting themselves. D: Just delete the spaces between the letters. But only if you really want to see them.

Now that that's done... I just want to point out that I dearly love the plot of Tsubasa, and basically I love Tsubasa in general, and so all of this is happening in an alternate dimension. One where basically everything was the same but this happened instead. xD; So yeah.

In response to **sakura-fai**: It'll be KuroxFai. Fer shizzle. x3

NOW ONTO THE DAMN CHAPTER.

**Chapter Five**

Syaoran, Sakura, Kurogane, and Mokona had come home a few hours later, only to head out again, but this time with Gwen and Fai. They decided to spend the rest of the day seeing if Mokona could pick up any trace of the feather. In fact, they didn't even know if there was one in this world or not.

"Guenevere... Could you perform some magic?" asked Mokona, concentrating on the waves coming into his little head.

"Of course," said Gwen. "But why?"

"There's so much magic in Seresu it's hard to pick out any waves that could be from the feather. But if I know your magic I can block it out, which will make the search easier."

"Certainly makes sense," said Gwen. She thought for a second, then began writing spells in the air in glowing, spiky blue streams with her left index finger. She finished, then waved her hand. They spun and were absorbed into the very air, before a small bird materialised from nothing. It was pitch black and flew in a circle before fluttering down and landing on Gwen's shoulder.

"Will that do?" she asked, seemingly oblivious of the stunned faces around her. She had created only a small bird, it was true, but she had created life. Even the most mastered Mage could not conjure life. It was supposed to be impossible. But here, young Gwen had created it without so much as the blink of an eye. Fai, it seemed, was the only one to grasp the enormity of what she had done, as he couldn't help but gape.

"I've found it!" exclaimed Mokona, jumping in delight.

"Where's it coming from?" asked Syaoran quickly. Mokona closed his eyes, for they had opened when he'd found the wave. He slowly rotated, then stopped.

"It's in that direction." Everyone followed his gaze. Gwen was the first to speak.

"But... Over there's the..."

"The castle." Fai finished the sentence for her. Everyone was busy looking at the stone building, so no one saw Fai pale in spite of himself.

"Well, then, let's go check it out," said Gwen. The group headed off, but Gwen stopped, then looked back. Fai hadn't moved. He was staring up at the castle with a strange, unnerving expression on his face. He was very pale and looked rather frightened, if not sick to his stomach.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked, rushing back to him and grasping his hand.

"I... It's... You don't-- know what really went on... That night..." Gwen knew then that he was afraid of confronting old ghosts. She pecked him on the lips, and the bird on her shoulder flew off to land on his.

"We need you to be brave right now. There's nothing in there that can get you while I'm still alive." And with that she slipped her hand into his and began to lead him after the others.

"But that's what I'm afraid of," whispered Fai. Gwen didn't seem to hear him.

The castle wasn't as far away as they had thought. Walking carefully up the magically suspended bridges, they were soon at the front gates. They were locked, but Gwen walked up to them and placed her hand on the lock. The royal crest glowed on her forehead and the chains unfastened themselves in her hand. She pushed open the gates and led them inside, up many rough stone steps, and then pushed open the giant wooden front doors.

Syaoran and Sakura couldn't help but gasp. The Main Hall itself was enormous; white marble made the walls and ceiling, and a dark red plush carpet covered the floors. Many doors led from the room itself, which was rather bare save for the portraits of past Kings, Queens, Witches, and Wizards, which lined the walls. Gwen's eyes immediately darted to the portrait of Fai, looking godly in his full Wizard's attire. His painting had always, of course, been her favourite.

"Fai-san... " whispered Sakura, following Gwen's gaze. "You look... Amazing." Fai smiled weakly and put his hand on her head. "Thanks, Sakura-chan." She smiled encouragingly up at him.

"Go to... The last door on the left," said Mokona, directing them from atop Syaoran's head. Gwen and Fai knew immediately what this meant. Fai only prayed he was mistaken in his assumptions.

They walked down the long hall and finally reached the last door. Gwen placed her hand on its surface and it opened, casting light into the otherwise dark hallway. It was long and narrow and made of dark stone. The black bird, it seemed, did not want to enter the dimly lit tunnel, and flew out of the still open main doors. Mokona directed them from the front of the que, Gwen and Fai bringing up the rear. Gwen tightly clasped Fai's hand, glancing back at him. He certainly looked sick now. His jaw was set and his eyes were looking straight ahead.

"Gwen-san?" said Sakura, noticing she and Fai had stopped walking.

"You guys go ahead. Fai and I know the way, we'll be along in a moment." She smiled reassuringly at Sakura, who nodded and kept walking.

Gwen turned back to Fai, who was leaning against a wall.

"Fai... How bad _was_ that night?" She asked, looking fearfully into his eyes. Fai shook his head.

"I can't tell you now. Just... Just kiss me and tell me everything will be fine." Gwen hurried to comply.

"I promise, I won't let anything happen to you, or anyone else for that matter. There's nothing left in there."

"... Alright." Fai stood, shook himself out a bit, took a deep breath, and walked down the corridor, Gwen hot on his trail.

After a few minutes of not seeing anyone, they finally caught up to the four ahead of them. Just in time to find the last door, which Gwen opened.

A cavernous room, made of the same white marble as the Main Hall, loomed ominously over them. It was silent as the grave in here, and the was a stuffy stillness even though this was by far the coldest place in the entire castle. Everyone shivvered at the same time, partially in apprehension. The air was thick with unease.

"... There." Mokona pointed in the direction of the feather. Fai nearly stopped breathing. In the center of the room was a deep pool filled with crystal-clear, icy water. A strange structure was constructed over the top. Fai knew it to be Chi, but did not share this information with anyone else. Gwen could feel the imprint of Fai's magic, even though it had been left long ago. She also guessed from her strange abscence that the dome-like structure over Ashura was Chi in another form. But why was Chi even there? Gwen knew she was missing a vital chunk of the puzzle, and was depending on Fai eventually telling her everything...

Meanwhile Kurogane was at the edge of the pool. He was a shrewd man, and he could tell from the moment the white manju had pointed them in the direction of the castle that this had something to do with the infamous Ashura underwater. He was now very curious to see who was haunting Fai... He'd had to share a room with the mage often enough to know that Fai often had nightmares about him. He'd even heard him sit bolt upright, gasping for air after the particularly bad ones. He didn't think Fai knew that he knew, though, so he'd never said anything about it.

Kurogane stared down into the crystaline depths. Indeed, there was a man there. But Kuro could see no malice in this man's face, no evil glint about him. He seemed a perfectly normal King, simply taking a nap. Albeit a nap in a glass coffin underwater, but he didn't stress the details.

"It's down there." Gwen and Fai both turned to look at Mokona with varying levels of fear and disbelief.

"Maybe it's what's holding him captive," suggested Syaoran. "Wait, where are you two going?"

Gwen had Fai's arm over her shoulder and she had been helping him walk to the door.

"I'm sorry, to Sakura especially, but I don't think Fai is feeling well. I think I'm going to take him home... Is that alright?" Gwen smiled apologetically.

"O-of course!" said Sakura, jumping. "We know the way home. I don't want Fai-san to be sick. I hope he gets better soon."

And with that Gwen left through the still open door. But not a minute later she was back, this time without Fai.

"Kurogane, um.. D'you think you could help me get him home?" Kurogane rolled his eyes and followed Gwen out the door again after she had given Syaoran and Sakura another apology.

"And why do you need my help getting him home? He fawns over you, you shouldn't have any trouble making him come with you." He was shocked when he saw her lower lip tremble as she looked up at him with her wide, silver-blue eyes. She slipped her hand in his and pulled him along with her until he saw what had her so upset.

There was Fai, sitting against the wall. And he looked terrible. He was coated in sweat and his fringe was sticking to his forehead. His breath was coming in gasps and his eyes were shut tight, and he had bared his teeth against his psychological pain. His fists were tightly clenched.

"I don't know what's wrong with him... And I can't carry him by myself, I'm not strong enough... Please, can you help me?" Kuro had never seen a stronger woman so close to tears.

"Don't worry. I'll bring him home." Kuro lifted the thin, shaking man and carried him like a child in his muscular arms. Gwen thanked him gratefully and led him out of the castle.

Nearly a half hour later Fai was in his bed in the loft, covers pulled up to his chin and a cool rag across his forehead. He was, as far as they could tell, asleep. His breathing was not so pained anymore, and his body was for the most part relaxed.

Kurogane felt uneasy. He thought he knew why Fai was acting so strangely, and why he'd had such a violent reaction to that man's presence, but by the way Gwen had acted he was sure she didn't know about Fai's view of Ashura. She sat diligently at his bedside, smoothing his hair and sponging his forehead, the same worried, miserable expression on her face. Kuro sat, feeling very much like a third wheel. He knew very well by now that Gwen and Fai were... Well, more than just childhood friends, and had realised their feelings toward each other.

"Hey..." said Kurogane, unable to keep it from her any longer. Gwen jumped and looked up.

"Yes?"

"... I think I may know something that he hasn't told you. About the guy underwater." Gwen's eyes widened a bit.

"What... What sort of something?" she asked hesitantly. Kuro fidgeted in his seat. He had killed countless numbers of people, had defeated the most feared armies in all of Japan without even batting an eye. And yet as if in spite of all that, this young woman's stare unnerved him in a way he previously hadn't thought possible.

"In... One of the dimensions we travelled to, we.. Talked about it. Well, touched on it. He said that... That he had to keep travelling through worlds because he disliked staying in one place. I asked why, and he said that there was... Someone under water who, when they woke up, would... Probably come after him."

A stunned silence followed the ninja's words. Gwen's lips parted and the lower began to tremble again. Suddenly he felt the incomprehensible need to put an arm around her shoulders, which was a very foreign feeling indeed. Kurogane made it his goal not to be attached to anyone, because it clouded his judgement with unnecessary emotions that, as a warrior, he could not afford to have.

A noise from downstairs signaled that Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona had returned. Gwen hurriedly stood and wiped her eyes, then smiled weakly.

"If he wakes up, can you tell him that I'll be up soon?" Kurogane nodded. Gwen walked halfway to the stairs, stopped, then turned around and walked back to him.

"Hmm?" said Kurogane, turning around in his seat to see why she had come back. She took a deep breath, looking at Fai, then leaned down and hugged Kurogane tightly around the neck. He felt a pink tinge creep into his tanned cheeks as she held him tightly, and he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, resting his head against hers. They hugged like that for a several moments until they heard Sakura softly calling Gwen's name from the bottom of the stairs. Gwen and Kuro broke apart quickly, and Gwen wiped her eyes again.

"... Thank you, Kurogane," whispered Gwen, who leant down again to kiss him swiftly on the cheek. A definite pink came to his cheeks again but Gwen was already halfway down the stairs.

A few minutes passed in silence. Finally Fai began to stir, and his eyes slid partially open.

"... Where... is Gwen?" mumbled Fai, his hand snaking up to feel the cloth on his forehead. Kuro glanced at the magician before staring at his feet.

"She went downstairs to help the kids." Fai was silent.

"She says that she'll be up soon." Fai nodded and draped his arm over his eyes. A few moments passed in silence.

"Why did you leave?" Kurogane finally asked, staring at the man before him.

"I'm sorry?"

"You've got everything a man could ever dream of. A kingdom that adores you, a good home, a living, and a beautiful woman clearly in love with you. If I'd had someone like her back home, do you think I would be here right now?" Kuro glared at Fai. It seemed that the Wizard didn't understand how wonderful a life he'd had and it made Kurogane angry. He'd given it all up just so that he could avoid some of the problems in his past, and at the expense of both his country and his lover. It wasn't fair.

"... You don't know what it was like," Fai mumbled, eyes still hidden by his arm. "It was hell."

"So you left her to deal with it?" Kuro growled. Fai suddenly sat up and glared right back at Kurogane.

"Don't you patronize me like that. You don't know what happened, so don't you accuse me of being a coward and just dumping all my troubles on Guenevere. I'd like to see the decision you'd have made if you were in my place, faced with the same problems. Do you honestly think that the decision to betray my kingdom and my best friend was an easy one?"

Kurogane was shocked. He'd never seen the mage lose his temper like that, or be so assertive. Fai was breathing heavily again, but the ugly look on his face melted as he flopped back down on the bed again. He placed his arm over his eyes.

"Leaving this world was the hardest decision I've ever had to make," whispered Fai. "I don't know how or why she's forgiven me."

Kuro and Fai sat in silence, Fai with his eyes still covered and Kurogane studying Fai's face. His expression was inscrutable. Barely a minute later they heard soft footsteps on the stairs again, and Gwen appeared in the room again. The ninja swiftly stood and strode past her, placing his hand tentatively on her shoulder before going downstairs. Gwen slowly walked over and sat in Kuro's newly vacated chair.

"How're you feeling?" she said quietly. Fai shrugged.

"I've felt worse." Gwen pulled his arm off his eyes so that she could look at him.

"You look terrible, though." She stroked the side of his face with her left hand, her right hand finding his. She leaned down and kissed him again.

"Are you hungry?" Fai shook his head, but his stomach betrayed him as it gave a loud growl. Gwen smiled.

"I'll bring you something." Her touch disappeared as she again went downstairs.

Fai lay still, thinking. Kuro's words had hit him hard. Why _had_ he left, if he'd had everything he'd ever needed here? At the time, he'd thought the only option had been to leave and never come back, to just wipe the slate clean and not worry about the consquences of his actions. But now... What if he'd stayed? What if he'd stayed and... No. He couldn't have stayed and dealt with Ashura. And if he had stayed, Gwen would surely be left to pick him up anyway. What Ashura had done... He'd at least done Gwen a favour by putting him to sleep. At least that way she didn't have to deal with him yet... And she could have time to get things in order before... Well, Fai didn't want to think about it. Ashura had done things to Fai, and Fai would never let them happen to Gwen. Not if he could help it. She'd never done anything to anybody to deserve things like that.

Fai's thoughts were interrupted as Gwen came back up the stairs with a bowl of something and a spoon.

"I brought you some soup," she said, with a gentle smile. Fai tried to return it as bast he could. Gwen helped him sit up in his bed, the loose white shirt she had dressed him in framing his thin figure. She dipped the spoon into the bowl and held it out to him. Fai blushed a little bit.

"I can feed myself--" he tried to say, but Gwen interrupted him.

"I know, but I want to feed you." She hesitated. "I love you." Fai looked in her eyes and saw that she truly meant it, and that she suddenly looked very tired.

"I love you, too. More than anything." He punctuated the point by pulling her free hand to his mouth and nuzzling her palm.

She held out the spoon again. Fai leaned forward a bit and closed his mouth around it. It was broth, and it was warm. Fai leaned back into his pillows and swallowed.

"Gwen, I..." Fai started to say, but she silenced him with a look.

"We can talk after you've eaten." She held out the spoon again.

For several minutes Witch fed Wizard in silence. Then, finally, the last bit was swallowed, and the bowl was set down.

"Now we can talk."

**End Chapter Five**

Hehe, cliffhanger. :D


	6. Chapter 6

Hey! An update, yay! I'm so sorry I didn't update yesterday, but I seem to have fallen ill and I've been asleep most of the past three days. xD; But yeah.

Oh my God **xxxPsychotique**. Seriously, your comment made me feel soooo much better. Like, my nose stopped running, my head stopped hurting, and suddenly I could smell, taste, and hear! (I have a super monster cold. xD) But yeah, thank you soooo much. You've, like, made my week. My month. Basically, you made the authoress very happy. 'D But yeah, chapter four was when I was trying to get back into the feel of the story, and so that's why everything was a bit scattered. I'm not entirely fond of my story until about chapter five.

**sakura-fai**, my dear, I'd just like to say that you've also made me happy because you've commented on like every chapter. You seriously don't know how gleeful that makes me. x3

ENOUGH FROM ME THOUGH. And onto the story, which I'm sure you're eager to read. There in one part in this that was... Very awkward to write. And it's even more awkward for other people to read it. I'm sure you'll know it when you read it. And if you don't, then I'm completely overreacting! C:

I have a bad habit of re-reading every chapter and complusively editing. I also have a bad habit of rambling forever.

**Chapter Six.**

"Now we can talk."

Fai played with his hands a bit before saying, "I... Have to tell you about what went on that night. You need to know, for... Your own sake." Fai didn't want to look at Gwen.

"I'm guessing that this will be bad," said Gwen, looking at her toes.

"You're right. But you need to know." She took a deep breath.

"... Okay."

Fai spent the next ten minutes explaining exactly what had happened that night; how the army attacked, how they'd gotten in because of a traitor in the castle, how Fai had fought them and killed them all... He paused. He had so far avoided talking about Ashura, and he knew that Gwen was waiting for him to explain that particular piece of the puzzle.

"... I'm guessing you had something to do with Ashura being asleep," said Gwen, still avoiding Fai's eyes.

"... I... I'm the... I put him to sleep." Fai sat in silence. Gwen said nothing. She had almost expected it.

"He... He is not our friend anymore, Guenevere. He's... Oh, God," Fai moaned, his voice breaking. Gwen gasped and took his hand in her own.

"Fai..." she whispered, eyes wide and afraid. "What on earth did he do to you?" Fai turned and looked at her with a grim look on his face. His eyes were worn and jaded.

"He was the traitor. He let the Sirian army into the castle."

"But why?" gasped Gwen, eyes locked with Fai's.

"Because... He wanted me dead. He wanted me dead so that you would be Witch, and I wouldn't be in the way... And so that he could have you. Your magic, as much as I hate to admit it, far surpasses my own. Ashura knew this, and wanted to use your skills to help him conquer the surrounding kingdoms. He wanted power. Your power. And..." Fai couldn't look at Gwen. "I was afraid he'd do anything to force you to do his dirty work." She put her hand over her mouth.

"That's not all, though.." whispered Fai, turning to look at the ceiling. "He.. Did things to me... And I'm afraid that if he wakes up he'll... Do them to you."

"What... What did he do?" Fai gulped, searching for the words to explain himself.

"Well.. It... He'd been... Coming on to me for a while," muttered Fai, his face hot. There was an awkward pause. Fai cleared his throat.

"I... Knew that he'd let in the army, and... After I'd defeated them, I knew... That... Well, I feigned loyalty to him, pretending I though he was entirely innocent... And I... I, well..." Fai coughed and felt a definite hotness all over. He could feel Gwen's eyes burning into him, and he felt uncomfortable, embarassed, and mostly ashamed. He turned away from her.

"I slept with him."

Quite possibly the most awkward moment they had ever had followed this statement. He heard Gwen fidget beside him.

"A-Afterward..." continued Fai, trying to keep voice steady, "While he was still... In the moment, I guess... I performed the spell to put him to sleep, and sealed him in the coffin."

"How... How had he been coming on to you?" whispered Gwen. Fai groaned inwardly. Why, of all the questions to ask, did she have to ask that?

"He would do things like... Like p-push me against the walls, and... Kiss me, and.. Call me to his chambers at night... And try to seduce me... He even went as far as to drug my wine one night..." Fai was beet red. "I knew that if he succeeded in his plan to kill me, then... It would be you instead of me." He looked at her. "I would never let him do anything to you like that. I could never live with myself."

There was a heavy silence as Fai and Gwen stared at each other. They both jumped at a soft cough from the stairs, and Gwen whipped around quickly.

"Um, Syaoran-kun and I made dinner, if you're hungry..." said Sakura, who smiled nervously at the two, who were both rather red.

"Oh, um, thank you, Sakura, dear," said Gwen quickly and with a hurried smile. "Don't worry, we'll be down soon." Sakura smiled more confidently and nodded. She then traipsed back downstairs. A few moments later they heard talking and laughter.

"Fai..." whispered Gwen, who had turned back to face him, "I... I don't know what to say. You've... Well... You sacrificed yourself for my sake. And when you left, I was angry... I thought your leaving had been an act of cowardice.. And now... Oh, Fai, I'm so sorry..." Fai gasped as he saw tears well in her eyes again.

"No, please, don't cry," whispered Fai, who took the Witch in his arms and pulled her onto the bed with him. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and he could feel her tears on his skin. He closed his eyes and made soft hushing noises. She gave a loud sniff and lifted her face to look at him. She smiled weakly.

"I'll go down to dinner. You stay and sleep. I'll be back up in a bit with something for you." Fai nodded and he let her slide from his grasp. She departed for the kitchen, and Fai fell back into the bed again. Within minutes he wast fast asleep.

-

Kurogane was on his bed, sitting cross-legged against the wall. His brow was furrowed even more than usual: For some reason he was uneasy. He wasn't sure why, he just knew that something about Seresu wasn't right. There was a heavy weight in the air that just wouldn't dissipate, and though Guenevere and Fai may not notice it, Kurogane certainly did.

It felt like impending doom.

Should he say something to her? No, he didn't want to concern her even more. Though, she probably already knew that something was coming. A confrontation with Ashura was going to happen, but whether it would be sooner or later depended on the bravery of the Witch and Wizard. Ashura was obviously a powerful King, so to beat him would mean that both would have to fight, if they would fight at all... And for the first time travelling with his companions, he sincerely hoped he could be of use in any battle that could arise. Someone knocked gently at his door.

"Kuro... May I come in?" Gwen opened the door a bit so he could see her face. Kuro nodded. She came in and sat on the bed next to him, and in the same fashion.

"I think we need to talk," mumbled the ninja, cheeks reddening slightly as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I think so too. What sort of conversation do you have in mind?"

"... It's about... That guy. Your king." Gwen was silent.

"What are you planning to do about... The white manju said one of the Princess' feathers was what was ultimately sealing him underwater. If we were to get the feather back it would release him. And I know that that Wizard won't like it if the King is released." Kuro shuffled uncomfortably. "I... Couldn't help but overhear part of your conversation... About why he tried to kill that mage. And... What will happen to you if he's freed." Kurogane fidgeted again. "I don't want you to have to go through with that kind of treament either. You don't deserve it." Gwen sighed.

"Thank you, but... I'm really not so great." She shook her head for a moment. "And... About Ashura... I don't know what we're going to do. Fai is... A very powerful magician, and a renowned fighter. But he's in no condition to fight right now, especially against Ashura. Ashura is also very, very powerful, and... Well, truth be told, we'd be lucky if we could kill him." Gwen coughed to clear her throat, then rested her chin in her hand.

"I... Well, Sakura needs to get her feather back. So I guess Ashura will just have to wake up." She smiled wryly. "No matter what it may mean for the rest of us, Sakura is our top priority." Kurogane grimaced.

"Why... How can you be like this?" growled Kurogane, angry. "This guy could do horrible things to you; he could rape you for God's sake, and yet you... You're so... You act like you don't care. Like your personal well-being doesn't even matter. And... It's not right. You're too forgiving, and you put yourself last." Kurogane was surprised even at his own outburst. Gwen turned to look at him, her eyes wide with shock.

"I.. I'm sorry," the ninja mumbled, embarassed. He hadn't meant to say those things to her, even if he had spoken some truth. Gwen laughed softly, a dry, humourless chuckle.

"No, you're right. I guess I should be more worried. But I don't want to hold grudges against people forever... I'd rather just live without enemies. And if it means I have to put up with my own King, then I can do it."

"Your eyes say otherwise." Kuro stared at her, a frown on his face again. She looked up at him.

"You and that magician love each other. And when it's time for you two to part, can you honestly say that you'll be happy enough without him? That you can live comfortably with that bastard of a King instead of your lover kissing you to sleep every night?" The Witch shrugged.

"I don't know anymore. I guess I'll just have to make it work, won't I? I can't change the pre-destined course of events, so I may as well live with it."

Kuro didn't know how to answer this. She suddenly seemed like someone who had given up all hope.

"No." Kuro gazed at her, his usual glare softened with the feeling of... Was it sympathy? She couldn't tell. "You can't take this mind-set. I've seen what thinking like this does to people. You can't just give up hope like this. If I can... If it helps at all, I'll make sure that you and the mage will be together. So don't give up on me." Gwen was touched. She hadn't expected the tall man before her to take this view, nonetheless to feel this way about her. She let out a shuddering breath, then tried her best to smile.

"... Thank you. It means a lot." Kuro simply nodded.

They sat in silence for a bit, until Gwen spoke.

"Why don't you use anyone's names?"

Her question was rather out-of-the-blue, and it caught him off guard. He thought about lying, saying he didn't know what she was talking about, that she must be mistaken. Then he remembered who he was talking to.

"It's... I don't... I don't want to be attached to anyone."

"Why?" Kuro became a little uncomfortable again.

"Because... It's better not to make connections with anyone. I'm a warrior, born and bred. I can't afford to have... Strong feelings for anyone. It impairs my judgement, and I can't... Make good decisions under stress." He hadn't opened up like this to anyone since his parents had been killed, save for Tomoyo.

"Well... I don't care if you're connected to me. In fact," she said softly, taking her hand and putting it on Kurogane's, "I want us to be connected."

He stared at her slender, pale hand on his broad, tanned, caloused one. He could see, through her fingers, the familiar scar from his childhood on his left hand. Then he looked at her. She looked serious, but soft and gentle.

"... For you, I... I'll make an exception," he grumbled. She smiled again.

"I'm glad."

Syaoran's head suddenly appeared in the door, and Gwen pulled her hand off of Kuro's with lightning speed.

"Guenevere-san? Um.. Fai-san told me that he needs to see you." Syaoran had a hint of a blush. He suspected he had walked in on something between Gwen and Kurogane. Gwen stood quickly and thanked Syaoran, who left the room after nodding his head. Gwen began to walk to the door, but her hand was caught and she turned to see Kuro holding it. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, and simply pulled her toward him and kissed her forehead.

"... Take care of yourself." Gwen nodded and kissed his cheek.

Walking slowly up the stairs to the loft, Gwen thought about all Kuro had told her. What _would _she do after Fai had left? Could she really, truly be happy just knowing that Fai was somewhere safe and out of harm's way? Could she sleep without his arms around her, but with Ashura's instead? She sat once more in the chair next to the bed. Fai, it seemed, had fallen asleep waiting for her. His chest rose and fell softly, his breath warm against her face as she pressed her forehead against his. He was still feverish. She pulled the covers higher up to his chin and tucked them around him. The sooner he was feeling better the sooner Gwen could stop worrying so much about him. Her nerves were pretty much shot.

She thought about Kuro's words again. As much as she might not want to admit it, the man had a point. She knew she wouldn't-- couldn't-- be happy while Fai was gone. Not anymore. However, she couldn't see a way to side-step their predicament. It seemed that the only way was...

Fai stirred and opened one eye, then smiled and closed it again.

"Hello, Ginny."

"Hello, Fai." She touched his face gently, brushing his long hair away from his eyes. He sighed and brought his hand out from under the covers to hold hers.

"Ginny, I know that you and Kuro have been talking about... About me, and about A-Ashura, and I think... I think we need to talk about it too."

"You're right." Gwen took a deep breath.

"But first," said Fai with a coy grin, his hand moving to the back of her head, "Come down here and kiss me." Gwen was happy to comply.

Several minutes later Gwen was lying on top of Fai under the covers, the Wizard sitting up somewhat on his pillows. His hand was stroking her hair while she rested her head on his chest.

"So... About Ashura," Fai said, settling into a more comfortable position.

"I think I may have an idea of how to keep him from you," said Gwen, her eyes closed as she focused on the steady _b-bump _of Fai's heartbeat.

"Well that's fine and dandy, but it's not me I'm worrying about." Fai kissed the top of her head. Gwen acted as if she had not heard him.

"I was thinking... That we could wake him, quickly take the feather, and then you could leave with Mokona and everyone."

"And what about you?"

"I'll distract him so you can get away, even if it kills me." Fai sighed. He knew Gwen would say something stupid like that.

"That's not going to work, Ginny. It leaves you, here, with him. And if you even tried to kill him or refuse him or anything you would be accused of treason, and they would kill you anyway."

"They might be nice and just imprison me."

"I'm sorry, but that's not something I'm going to allow to happen."

"Right now it's our only option," Gwen said, looking up at Fai with a stubborn expression that almost entirely hid her anxiety.

"Maybe..." said Fai, racking his brain for anything that he could do to alter the dark fate the world seemed to want to bestow on this Witch. He realised, suddenly, that there _was_ another option. He knew Guenevere wouldn't like it, but it was much more preferrable than what could happen to her otherwise.

"I know what we can do." His eyes lit up. She looked at him curiously.

"Oh, really."

"Yes, really. I don't think you'll like it, though."

"And you think I'm partial to the other option?"

"Good point." Fai was surprised at himself. It seemed so obvious, why hadn't they thought of this before? He couldn't believe they were so stupid. This way, not only could they both escape, but...

"Okay. This is what I'm thinking. We go in and set Ashura free--"

"--So far it sounds an awful lot like my idea--"

"--But instead of me leaving you here alone, I take you with me."

"I do have a problem with that. I can't leave Seresu without a Magician anymore. Last time was bad; this time would be worse."

"Ah, but see, this is where you're wrong for once. Our people will not be without a leader, since once we are gone, they will be left wth Ashura. And while he has become a cruel, sadistic bastard in his private life, he is a fair ruler and would not betray his people as a whole. We will not be abandoning anyone." He gazed knowingly at Gwen. She had a look on her face that said that she, too, had realised how obvious this should have been.

"It's... That would work," she said, disbelief present in her voice. "I... Wow. We could both be free of him."

"Not forever, though," sighed Fai. Gwen's face fell a bit. "Just long enough to be together for bit, enjoy our time together. Then when he decides to come after us, we'll... Well, we'll have had time to think up a strategy for when he does find us." Gwen smiled, a huge, happy, radiant smile.

"Oh, I'm so glad... But I'll have to leave Seresu." She looked like a child, as if her surroundings were suddenly unfamiliar. "I haven't left Seresu for more than a month at a time, and that was when I would go travelling with you. Now I may never return."

"It's better than the alternative. Believe me, I thought I'd never be back here. It's like... Like being born again. Like starting completely fresh, and the whole slate is clean. It's really not as bad as it sounds," he said quickly, because he noticed that she was looking out the window with an odd look on her face.

"I'll just have to trust you," Gwen said softly, still looking out the window.

**End Chapter Six**

Just to let you know, the next chapter is my favourite chapter in this entire story.


	7. Chapter 7

So I've decided since it's President's Day and I don't have school, I'm going to post chapter seven! I'm sure you remember, but this is my very, very favourite chapter. Actually, the one I finished writing not five minutes ago I'm very fond of also, since it's a battle scene, but this one is still my favourite. Notice it's also the shortest! I'm sure you're not too happy about it, but you're lucky to get two chapters in one weekend anyway. xP But yeah, battle scenes are my favourite things to write probably ever, including angst. My favourite scenes to read in books are epic battles, because they're hard to write believably, for one, and they're just so action-packed! Plus I'm strange for a girl since I actually like the blood and gore. Hehehe. I listened to a lot of Fatboy Slim while writing it, because he makes some really good generic action-scene music, it's quite fabulous.

Anyway. Psychotique, again, you've made my day. I was beaming ear to ear reading your comment, and my mother actually asked why I was so happy. I kind of just went into happy giggles. I really am feeling better; I've moved onto the hacking cough stage, and while I no longer feel like my head is stuffed with cottonballs, my throat is kind of raw from coughing so often. Hopefully I'll be better by tomorrow because I can't really afford to miss another day of school. xD;

So this is my shortest chapter; chapter two is my longest at 4553 words. The entire story itself is up to about 27K words, which I find funny because yesterday it was at about 24K. So I wrote 3000 words in about an hour and a half of frenzied typing. And in case anyone's interested, we are about 3/5 of the way through what I've written so far. More than half, but less than 2/3. And sheesh, this ramble is going on forever. So onto the chapter!

**Chapter Seven.**

Ashura dreamed.

He was semi-conscious, and was stuck in-between his dream-like state and actual thought. But he dreamed.

He was a boy again, with his best friends on a spontaneous picnic. He was at his daily magic lessons, then sparring with his father while his mother looked on.

They were pleasant dreams, for now. But he would have dreams of Fai, and of Gwen. He felt his anger bubble as he thought how close he was to his plan succeeding. Everything had been on track, right as he had planned... Then he had become foolish, and had let himself be seduced by the blonde magician, who he no longer felt any real feelings toward. He felt anger at himself for letting himself be tricked like that, and then to be imprisoned in this underwater coffin. He felt himself subconsciously figuring out the workings of a plan for revenge...

But before he could dwell too deeply on the matter he would be dreaming again, his head filled once more with countless sweet nothings.

**End Chapter Seven.**

Next chapter signals the entrance of a new character! He's my personal favourite of every character I've ever invented, and believe me, that's saying something. I'll try and update soon! x3


	8. Chapter 8

Neeeee! Thanks for the compliments on my drawings, firstly. They make me very happy. Your compliments, that is. Although my drawings make me happy too sometimes. o.o Anyway. Yes, in the one with the melon I made a mistake in the katakana of August's name... Because that is his name. Yes. But I accidentally wrote 'a-ge-su-te', when I meant to write 'a-ge-su-to'. My bad. xD; But yeah, it's not smart-alecky to point it out, because as soon as I noticed I was like 'CRAP' and then flailed for a bit, since I tend to do that. Hehehe. Anyway.

Yes! In this chapter we meet August! Gosh I love him! It's funny for me to think that in an earlier version of this story August wasn't in it at all. It would have been so boring without him, especially the ending... Speaking of which, I will probably end up uploading more than one version of the ending, since I like several... But the happiest ending this story will have will be bittersweet, at best. I'll let you guys read them all, then you can decide which you like best!

NEW READER! NEW READER! Eek! **Deathiswatching** has made me happy! It makes me happiest to know I've inspired others, since I get really inspired whenever I read really good stuff, and so it makes me feel better about this story. I'm still kind of nervous as to whether or not this is good, since my friend and I often trade stories that we write with each other for proof-reading and whatnot, but this one I haven't let her read yet... So yeah. Ehehe. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. (hugs)

Oh, and if you're curious... You can go to my profile and click the link at the bottom to go to the place I post my art. Gots lots of stuff there for viewing. 57 pictures, as of tonight. Yayy.

These rants keep getting longer. Sorry, guys. xD;;

**Chapter Seven.**

Fai decided that Gwen was feeling down. So early one morning he left the house, without any word of where we has going or when he would be back. He didn't return until nearly sundown, which left everyone else in varying states of worry and annoyance.

"I'm baaaaack!" came Fai's jubilant call from the front door. Gwen rushed to him, and punched him before wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"You idiot, you can't just leave me like that without telling me where you're going! You're going to give me ulcers! Plus, you've only just recovered from being sick! What if you've made yourself worse?" she whined at him, her smile betraying her irritated tone.

"Well it's a good thing that I've got something that will make it up to you, isn't it?" Fai said, standing aside to reveal the person behind him.

Everyone was shocked at the loud scream coming from the living room. Kurogane immediately recognised the voice as Gwen's and jumped off his bed quickly, rushing to the main room. He stopped dead in the doorway, the kids and manju appearing moments later behind him.

On the floor was a tangle of arms and legs and blonde hair. Gwen was on top of a man whose face no one could see, and Fai laughed gleefully at them as they rolled around.

"Sheesh, you two. At least wait until the kids have met August." Gwen's face emerged, smiling ear to ear. She giggled and stood, pulling the man beneath her to his feet.

Once everyone could see him, they first thought that he looked a lot like Fai, but if Fai had muscle, curlier hair and stronger features. He was tall, with relatively short, curly blonde hair that looked almost cherubic. He had bright blue-green eyes with bold eyebrows. He was taller than Fay, and his build was thicker; they could tell that he was well-muscled.

"Sorry, everyone, I'm a bit excited right now," said Gwen. "This is my older brother, August. I haven't seen him in quite a while so I'm a bit flustered."

"Why haven't you seen him? Doesn't August-san live in Seresu?" inquired Sakura, looking quizzicly between Gwen and her brother.

"No, I haven't lived in Seresu for quite a few months now," said August. He had a strong, clear voice that was full of laughter. "I've been off with the Royale Guard, alternately training and upholding the Seresan law. I've been meaning to come back ever since I left."

"Why didn't you?" scolded Gwen. "I've missed you so much, you jerk!" August simply laughed. It was loud and booming. He seemed ridiculously joyful.

"Oh yes. Sorry, everyone. I'm August, Gwen's older brother, as previously stated. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, bowing low. He shook hands briefly with each Syaoran and Kurogane, and kissed Sakura's hand with a gentle smile. She smiled back shyly.

"Whoa!" said August suddenly, looking at Gwen in surprise. "Your ears! What have you done to them?" She grinned.

"Security measure, I'll explain later. And what's with your accent?" she demanded. It was August's turn to grin cockily.

"When you're exposed to as many dialects as I am when serving in the Guard, you tend to make your own accent. Everyone talks in their own unique way." He raised his eyebrows. "Do you like mine?"

The language of Seresu was a lovely language to begin with, but August's new way of speaking seemed to draw out its natural beauty. Gwen groaned.

"I _love_ it." August smiled gleefully.

"Here, let me show you to your room. Oh, wait, Fai is roosted up in the spare room right now, but I'll kick him out--" "Hey!" "--and it'll be ready for you soon."

"Eh, I'll do it, it's no big deal." Gwen noticed that August did not, in fact, seem to have many possessions with him. He was wearing dark pants and a dark shirt; sewn into the shirt was an intricate ivy strand that fanned across his torso, thickest at the lower right-hand corner and fading out as it spread across. It had a high neck and tarnished silver clasps. Thick, worn leather boots rose to his knee, and he had a thick traveling cloak around his shoulders. His nose and cheeks were pink from being in the cold. There wasn't a suitcase, or anything else for that matter, on his person.

"You didn't bring anything? You know, when you left for the Guard, you didn't exactly leave anything of yours here, so it's not like I can take care of you or something. Do you intend to buy an entire wardrobe while you're here? You're not going to wear the same thing every day, so long as you are in my house." August patted her head.

"No need to worry, my dear little sister. But as a matter of fact, I actually do intend to do a bit of shopping here," he said airily.

"And why, may I ask, are you spending your money on clothes when I know for a fact that you already have enough clothes at your own house?" August looked sheepishly at his toes.

"Ehm... Because when Fai came to get me I was so excited I forgot to pack anything."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot."

"I know."

After a few hours the loft was ready for August; the wardrobe was full of new clothes for the blonde man to wear. Everything he had purchased had an almost regal feel to it, from his lavishly embroidered wine-coloured cloak to his soft grey pajamas. Gwen told him that he was silly for buying so many things, but Fai, it seemed, had fun choosing clothes for his friend.

The next day, after Fai had cooked them dinner, August sighed loudly and flopped on the chaise lounge.

"I need some good exercise after food like that," he complained. He glanced over at Kurogane, who had been very stoic in the man's presence so far. "Hey, how about you and me spar for a bit? I'm raring to go!" And as if to prove the point he jumped off the couch and hopped around. Fai, of course, had to join, and they hopped together around the sitting room.

"Are all the men in this world crazy?" Kurogane mumbled at Gwen.

"Only my favourites, unfortunately," she said, amused. "You should spar with him; he may not look it, but he's very agile and good with a sword. I'm sure you'd consider him a worthy opponent." She smiled widely up at the ninja.

"... Fine," Kuro said, loud enough to get August's attention. "Let's go. I hope you brought a sword." August smiled, waving his hand once through the air in front of him. A fine, wrought-iron, medieval-style broadsword appeared, and he caught the handle.

"Ready when you are," he said, with a grin as rough and sharp as his weapon.

"Okay, I'm going to bring them in right now. Honestly, it's been hours. They'll freeze if they don't come in now." Indeed, August and Kurogane had been at a stalemate for nearly four hours. Swords clanged nonstop, and the occasional shout from either of the men was heard over the din. Gwen walked to the door and took her coat from the peg on the wall, throwing it about herself and pulling open the door. She left the door open after she exited since Fai, Sakura, and Syaoran were all following her.

"Oi! You're both going to die if you don't get inside right now! The sun's gone down, you loons! I'm surprised you're not icicles already!" the witch shouted. Both August and Kurogane acted for a minute as if they hadn't heard her; indeed, they continued to fight rigorously, dodging, ducking, swinging. Their usually refined sword skills had been abandoned as they fought recklessly.

"Ugh, they're such idiots, I swear," Gwen grumbled. "Well, they made me do it." She lifted her hands into the air and the three behind her watched as her magic surrounded her hands, then saw how it formed around the two men. She clenched her fingers and lifted her arms quickly. Strangled yells were heard as blonde and brunette were wrenched out of their battle and suspended in the air, their swords dropping with soft fumps into the snow.

"Do I have your attention now?" she said sternly. They nodded. "Good. Now we're all going in because it is ridiculously cold. And there's no more fighting for you two tonight." They nodded again. "Alright, I'm letting you down now." She put her hands down and they fell to earth.

"Sorry about that, Ginny. It's just, I've never met someone who could weild a sword quite like that before so I was perhaps overly excited," August said.

"Perhaps?"

"Ehm..." He laughed sheepishly. Ninja and mage both looked rather worse for wear. Their faces were paled, but cheeks and noses were bright red from cold. They had a cold sweat going, and both sported injuries. Kurogane had come out with the least worrisome; a slice across his left cheek and a bruise on his jaw. August had a cut across his left arm that was bleeding into his coat and another on his right shoulder. Gwen sighed as they both bled on themselves and put a hand to her forehead.

"You're going to end up killing yourselves someday."

After getting them both inside, undressed, wrapped in blankets, and drinking hot tea, they could finally be bandaged. Both men had wet hair from the melted snow outside, Kurogane shook his dry; August tried to mimic the ninja but only succeeded in sticking his wet curls to his face. In the way of medical treatment Kuro didn't require much; a swipe of healing salve on his cut (which stung, but he'd never admit it) followed by a protective strip of bandage, and another, gentler salve for his bruise to speed the healing process. August was a bit more of a challenge, however. He had a hard time getting out of his garments since his blood had congealed and kept them sticking to his wounds. Gwen had pulled her long hair back into a messy bun to keep it out of her face, as she had to lean over her brother to treat him. Finally he was bare-chested, and Gwen applied the same solution to his shoulder and arm. He hissed softly as it stung and burned. Gwen softly berated him, telling him it was his own fault, but was overly gentle as she wrapped the bandage around his arm, then around his shoulder. The shoulder bandage had to be anchored around his chest, which killed two birds with one stone as he'd had some minor bruising on his torso. Kurogane looked a bit sheepishly at the curly-headed man to his left. August noticed this and cocked his head curiously.

"What's the matter, Kurogane?" piqued the man.

"... Sorry for... Giving you those injuries." August looked surprised.

"Aye, what for? All's fair in a good, old-fashioned sparr. The fight was my idea in the first place. You oughtn't feel guilty. Besides, I wounded you too," he said, grinning.

"Wounds like these heal quick. I got you worse."

"Well, obviously. But no worries, I'm tougher than I look." He gave his own version of the ninja's wolfish smile. Kurogane had to grin back.

Suddenly, both men felt very drowzy.

"Oops, I forgot to tell you that the medicine I used to heal your wounds is also sort of a sleep aid. You both ought to head off to bed lest you fall asleep where you're sitting," Gwen said. August, however, was already nodding off, and finally his head fell back onto the chaise and he was asleep.

"Guess I should've spoke sooner," she muttered. Kurogane did not feel like falling asleep in front of everyone like August had, and so he stood quickly. He stood too quickly and became lightheaded, and stumbled a bit. Fai, who had been silent so far, stood and offered a shoulder for support.

"You'll be asleep in the hall if you try and make it there yourself, Kuro-pin," said Fai. "Let me help you." Kuro looked stiffly at the fair-haired man smiling widely, then nodded. Together they got to the hall, then Fai stopped and turned around.

"Sorry to leave you all, but I'm rather tired as well, so I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight, everyone," he trilled. Kuro mumbled a goodnight as well and they disappeared into the darkness of the hall. The three conscious people in the front room heard a door open and close softly. Gwen turned to her brother and brushed the hair out of his face as he slept. Sakura yawned and rested her head on Syaoran's shoulder. The boy blushed faintly, but smiled as well at her gesture of familiarity.

"Gwen-chan, do you need any help getting August-san to his bed?" quipped the princess, yawning again. Gwen smiled.

"No, but thank you. You two ought to go to bed. I imagine Kurogane and August will sleep for a while tomorrow since they both need to heal, because they're both idiots. While they're doing that we should go and do something, hmm? Just a day to relax for a bit." Syaoran and Sakura nodded enthusiasticly.

"That sounds very enjoyable," said Syaoran. Gwen smiled wider.

"Good. Well until tomorrow, good night you two." The teenagers bade her goodnight and went off to their room.

Gwen stroked her brother's cheek. His eyes opened groggily and he looked at her with half-lidded eyes. "Mmm.. I'm so t-t-tired," he said, yawning widely.

"Well with the medicine and a hard workout like that you'd have to be superhuman not to be." She twirled one of his now dry curls around her index finger. He struggled to stay awake, his eyes fluttering between open and closed. "M'sorry, Ginny," he mumbled, his speech slurred. "M'juss zo tired..."

"It's alright. You sleep. You've had an exhausting evening and you need to heal," she replied with a gentle whisper. Her brother looked at her with a sleepy smile for a moment.

"Zweet dreams," he mumbled.

"Sweet dreams."

**End Chapter Seven.**

That was originally two chapters... I think. I don't really divide my story into chapters until I post it here. But I'm giving you guys an extra long post, I think. Yayy. On an ending note, my story is up to 29000 words, and growing!


	9. Chapter 9

Hello again! This chapter was originally twice as long as it currently is, but I shortened it to buy myself some more time, because I haven't had much time for writing lately. (don't kill me, plzkthx.)After this I'll have two more chapters until I'm caught up to what I've written; the chapter after next is the big battle! Yay! Exciting! But that means I have to get really serious about my writing so that I can stay caught up... I'll try my best to keep this up to a new chapter every week. C:

And so we've met August! I absolutely love him, so get ready for a lot of him in the next couple chapters. And when he's around he tends to dissolve some of the angst, which is pretty needed at this point... But don't worry, it'll be back in due time. ;D But really, I just love August. If he weren't an imaginary person living in my head I'd probably marry him.

As to August's peculiar accent... Just choose whichever accent you find most appealing, and go with it. It's what I do. So in my head, his accent is mainly British, with some Scottish thrown in. Because those accents are sexy.

To my dear **sakura-fai**: I had Kuro apologise as a kind of showing that being in Seresu has changed him, if only a little bit. C:

Oh, and, if anyone's interested... I know that CLAMP or whatever says that Fai's homeland is Celes; personally, I think Seresu sounds better. And I know also that his name is spelled 'Fay', not 'Fai', but as you know I started writing this a very long time ago and I didn't feel like going back and changing all the times I'd typed his name. So if I slip and type Fay once or twice, you'll know why. And one last thing: I pronounce Fai's name so that it rhymes with 'way' instead of 'why'. Don't ask why, though. It just sounds better, to me, and plus I've always pronounced it that way... So yeah. Ahaha. Enough from me.

On to the chapter!

**Chapter Nine.**

August woke the next morning bleary-eyed and fuzzy-headed. _Funny,_ he thought, _I could've sworn that I fell asleep against the couch last night._ And yet, he was lying on his tummy in a warm bed, covers pulled nearly over his head. He was warm and cozy and content. Stretching out his arms, he felt a warm body next to him. Too drowzy to be surprised, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked fuzzily to his right. In the dim light he could see a hand sticking out from under the covers, which he lifted to find a mess of long blonde hair.

"Ginny?" he whispered, yawning widely. She lifted her head, tresses falling away to reveal her face.

"Nn?... What time izzit?..." she mumbled, fumbling on the table next to her for a timepiece. She groaned when she saw the time and flumped back down, but this time facing her brother. "Well, g'morning." She yawned.

"What happened?" August murmured, also cuddling under the blankets. "Last thing I 'member is falling asleep on the couch..." Gwen giggled. "I had to carry your dead weight all the way up here after you zonked. Thank God Seresans are so light, or else I would've just left you there. But anyway, afterward I was too tired to go downstairs to my own room so I just stayed here."

"'N' where are we?"

"The loft."

"Ah." August yawned again, but less widely. "What time is it?"

"Six thirty."

"Aaugh."

"Tell me about it."

They stayed in bed talking until they heard noises downstairs, then they got out of bed and dressed in robes and slippers. August insisted on carrying his little sister to the kitchen, since she had carried him last night. She agreed, if only because she didn't feel like walking this early, and hopped onto his back. He hooked his arms under her legs, pretending to sag under her weight, then walked down the spiral staircase and into the kitchen.

Sakura and Syaoran were there, having fun making breakfast. Sakura had a smudge of flour across one cheek. They were perhaps standing more closely than was necessary, and when the blondes traipsed in they quickly took a step away from each other, blushing pink. August and Gwen pretended not to notice.

"Good morning, children!" boomed August with more gusto than Gwen would've believed possible for him at seven AM. "How goes the morning so far?" Sakura beamed more widely than seemed natural and assured him that it was a fine morning indeed, that nothing had happened that shouldn't have, and that there was nothing to worry about since she and Syaoran would handle breakfast with a stark professionality and no funny business whatsoever, thank you very much. August tried to hold back his laughter as he assured them they were doing a fine job. Gwen excused herself to wake up Fai and Kurogane, since it wasn't fair for them to sleep in. Well, maybe Kurogane, but certainly not Fai. She knocked gently on their door before pushing it open.

Fai, it seemed, had fallen off the bed sometime during the night, as he lay sprawled in a mess of blankets on the floor. Kurogane looked practically harmless sleeping on his back, one arm up above his head in an uncharacteristicly gentle pose. Gwen couldn't help but duck back into the kitchen and tell the others to be quiet and follow her. They did, and when they saw the pecualiar sleeping arrangements of the two men, silent giggles were had by all.

"Maybe I'll let them sleep for a while longer," Gwen whispered, supressing her silent laughter. Everyone else nodded in agreement. August, however, had to have his fun. He slowly and carefully pulled Fai so that his head was under the edge of his bed, then smiled impishly and winked at Sakura, who blushed and covered her face with her hands to hide her laughter. Heading back into the kitchen, they made plans for the day. Sakura and Syaoran wanted to visit the village and perhaps shop a bit. August, too, wanted to see his fellow citizens again, since he'd been gone so long and all. So Gwen agreed that they could hang out in the village for the day. August, Syaoran, and Sakura cheered, which was followed by a loud thump and an even louder (and rather obscene) curse as Fai sat up, his forehead banging against the edge of his bed. August fell to the floor with tears in his eyes as he rolled with his laughter. Fai tumbled into the room and kicked the curly-haired man, rubbing his head where already a bruise was forming.

"That-- bruise looks-- good on you," gasped August between peals of laughter. Fai kicked him again before stepping over him and hugging Gwen.

"Good morning, Ginny." He planted a swift kiss on her cheek.

"Here-- let me--" Gwen's shoulders shook with laughter as she placed her palm on the darkening bruise, healing it quickly. August sat up, saw what she'd done, and said, "You know, you can really be no fun sometimes." Gwen patted her brother's head as a condolence. "I know."

Fai said a cheery good morning to both of the kids, assuring them that the three blondes were not, in fact, crazy. Well okay, they were, but everyone in Seresu was crazy so they were actually quite normal. Syaoran and Sakura didn't look entirely assured. A grumbling was heard from the door as a sleepy ninja stumbled into the kitchen and flopped on a stool, resting his head on the counter.

"Good morning, Kuro-pin!" cooed Fai, wrapping his lanky arms around broad shoulders. Kurogane growled, too tired, it seemed, to argue. Fai mussed his hair before spooning porridge into a bowl and handing it to the dark-haired man. Kuro glared at it.

"How the hell am I s'posed to eat this?" he grumbled. "Chopsticks sure as hell won't work." Fai gleefully held up a spoon, grinning like a cat.

"What're chopsticks?" piqued August curiously, plopping down next to the large man. Kuro stood, went into his room, and returned with a pair of narrow wooden sticks.

"Oooh, these are weird! You eat with these?" exclaimed August incredulously. Kuro wordlessly showed the blonde how to hold them. Gasping, August took them from the warrior held them perfectly, maneuvering them with a dexterity Fai seemed not to possess. "These are amazing!"

"Glad you think so," growled Kuro, head still against the counter.

"Are you tired, Kurogane-san?" inquired Sakura, a little slow on the uptake. He looked for a moment like he was going to respond sarcastically, but seemed to remember who he was talking to and only nodded weakly. Gwen smiled. Ninjas were so cute sometimes.

After a quick breakfast, Gwen, Syaoran and Sakura let the others in on their plans to visit the village that day. August and Fai were excited, but Kuro wasn't quite as enthusiastic. The witch nodded her head.

"Yes, it's probably best for you to stay home and get some rest today. I'm sorry about that damn potion; it makes everyone feel quite tired for a while," she said apologetically. The ninja just grunted. "S'not your fault. Don't worry about it." And with that he stumbled off to bed again.

"So!" said August. "We'll get dressed now and head out to the town?" Fai nodded vigorously. "Okay!"

"Okay!" mimicked Fai and Sakura, high-fiving. Everyone ran off to their respective rooms to dress.

Thirty minutes later they had stopped in a cafe to purchase a hot drink and to warm their hands, then headed back out into the cold. Fai, Sakura, and Syaoran began round two on their snowball fight, giving August and Gwen some time to talk.

"Ginny," August said softly,"I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but... Why are you wearing the royal magician's clothes?"

"Because while you were gone... A lot happened. It's because I'm Witch now." She expected her brother to be surprised, at the very least, yet he barely bat an eye.

"Yes, I thought so." She sighed. "Then why did you ask?" August shrugged, sipping his coffee. Gwen looked at it with distaste.

"I don't know how you can drink that stuff." August looked at her incredulously.

"How on earth can you be related to me and not love coffee?" he murmured. He rubbed the cup tenderly against his cheek. "Coffee is the nectar of the gods, little sister. It's the most delicious thing in the world."

"I'll leave it all for you, then." August rolled his eyes, taking another sip with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "However, I did not just want to talk to you about my drink of choice."

"I guessed not."

"Indeed. So... I think I've got the gyst, but... Why are Kurogane, Sakura, and Syaoran, who are so obviously not Seresan, staying with you? What's your relationship with them? How has Fai been? What's this about--" he was interrupted when a gloved hand clasped itself over his mouth.

"One question at a time! Which one first?" August huffed, impatient. "Okay. Um... Why are your new friends here? How do you know them?"

"Good question," Gwen said matter-of-factly. "Syaoran is on a search for Sakura's... Well, he memories were turned into feathers-- long story-- and they were scattered throughout the dimensions. And Syaoran, the sweet boy that he is, is determined to find them all. And the way he acts around her combined with what Fai has told me, I gather that in order for him to search for her memories... He had to ask a Dimension Witch of some sort for a way to travel through the dimensions, but she needed a price. And the price he had to pay was... Well, Sakura will never remember him. Apparantly they were friends as children, and I'm guessing they were in love with each other before she lost her memories." August let out a low whistle.

"And Kurogane?"

"Kurogane is traveling with them to return to his homeland. It's some place called Nihon. I guess his princess sent him away... He said it was because she wanted him to find the true meaning of strength, or something." August looked at the ground.

"And Fai?" Gwen looked at her brother sharply.

"What about him?"

"Why did he leave?" Gwen stared at him. August smiled crookedly. "You were not the only child to inherit our father's shrewdness." Gwen sighed.

"Fai... This is difficult. He had to leave because of something... That he did. He basically saved the kingdom and doomed it in one night, and... It's quite a long story. Basically he couldn't stay here any longer, he felt, and he left." It was Gwen's turn to stare at the toes of her boots. She could feel August's eyes on her.

"Next question. How has Fai been?"

"Ever since he's been back, he's been alright, I s'pose... He was sick just before you came. We visited the castle because Mokona-- that weird white thing-- can feel the waves of Sakura's feathers, and I guess there's one here. We followed the trail, and... He became ill." She coughed to clear her throat. "Fai had to seal King Ashura underwater in the Chamber Room in order to escape, and... I think that the reason his spell has lasted so long is because there is a feather, trapped, which is amplifying Fai's already very strong magical powers... And the only way to get it back will be to break the seal. Which is bad, by the way," she added, looking at her brother. August's eyebrows were furrowed, a frown on his face as he mulled over this information.

"Why did he need to seal Ashura? I thought you three were friends."

"We were, until Ashura became power-hungry and decided that it would be a good idea to kill people to further his own rule." August nodded, frown deepening.

"Yes, that would change things."

"He could have killed Fai." August was angry in an instant.

"If he ever lays a finger on either of you I'll kill him personally," he said fiercely, voice rough and dark. There was a moment of tense silence, August clenching and unclenching his left fist while Gwen looked at him helplessly.

"Okay," said August, forcing himself to take deep breaths. "How did you come to be Witch? I though Fai was going to be next in line."

"He was Wizard for a little less than two months before he left. I was next in line, so I became Witch, a title I've held for the past six months. And since we have no king currently, I'm also partly serving as Queen." August blinked.

"Really?" He looked confused. "If you're Queen... That makes me... Am I King?" He looked perplexed for a moment, then grinned. "Heehee, I'm royalty."

"No you aren't. I was royalty first and I say you can be my personal butler." August looked put-out.

"Dammit."

"Not the most eloquent response, but I would have to say that it's fitting." August looked at Gwen with a much softer expression.

"Last and most important question," he said softly, turning to wrap his arms around his sister. "How have_ you_ been?" Gwen rested her head against his collarbone.

"Lately, I've been quite good. I can't complain. But... " she gulped, trying to find the words. "Six months ago, when Fai disappeared, it... We assumed he had been killed in the massacre that happened that night. We never found his body, obviously, but... It was hard. I thought he was dead. And you know that you and he are the most important people in the world to me, so... You had to be in the east with the Guard, so I was alone for a while. It was hard." Her voice had dropped to a quiet murmur. August's hold grew tighter, and he rested his chin on her head.

"If I'd known what was going to happen I would have never left." August's voice sounded remorseful. Gwen shook her head.

"No. It was painful, but I... Worked through it. I would have only brought you down if you'd been here."

"You shouldn't have to suffer alone. You put yourself last too often. It's alright to rely on me if you're upset. I love you, Guenevere. I just want you to be happy." Gwen clutched at August, unnerved by how Kurogane, and now her brother, had in essence told her the same thing. She sniffed. He pulled her back to study her face.

"Are you okay?" he said softly.

"I'm a little messed up right now, but I've been worse." This seemed to be a fitting response for August, because he kissed her cheek and smiled. She smiled back.

Suddenly August was distracted by a very pretty girl walking past. He lifted his hand, flicking a finger in her direction; a gust of wind suddenly blew forth, blowing her skirt up to her hips, fully exposing her legs, which were clad in dark tights. She gave a small yelp and pushed her skirt back down, blushing furiously.

"What the hell did you just do?" whispered Gwen, aghast.

"Ah, I was just curious. See, that's the bad thing about being so far north, everyone wears leggings, or stockings, or something. Not like down farther south where it's skirts and panties and that's all, like it should be." He crossed his arms over his chest, very matter-of-fact. Gwen gaped at him

"I can't believe it. My own brother's favourite pastime has become skirt-flipping." She put a hand to her forehead, sighing.

"Oh, Ginny," he said fondly, wrapping his arms around her again. "My favourite pastime always has been, and always will be, annoying you." He fondly kissed the top of her head. She shook with silent giggles for a moment, then swiftly punched him in the stomach; he fell to the ground, the wind effectively knocked out of him.

"Idiot. They're one in the same."

"Two birds with one stone," he gasped, from somewhere around her feet.

Meanwhile, Fai, Sakura, and Syaoran had sneakily decided to pummel both August and Gwen when they weren't paying attention. A flurry of snow make Gwen yelp in surprise, then duck behind August, who had stood. August made a show of screaming like a girl before bending and scooping a handful of snow and flinging it at Fai, smacking him right in the face, yelling, "I'll protect you, Ginny!"

**End Chapter Nine.**

Sorry it ends so abruptly... xD; And thanks, you guys, for the support and comments and everything, because I really really appreciate it. You honestly don't know how much.


	10. Chapter 10

Wowzers, it's chapter ten! Double digits, woohoo! I like this chapter since it's quite fun, but gets more angsty again near the end! Yay! Angst is fun to write. So's happy-fun time, but angst for me is easier, which is why this story itself is primarily angst. Yep.

Oh, and, with the medicine-- August is a Seresan, born and raised, and has been in more than enough fistfights to have built up enough of a tolerance to his sister's magical healing-ness, whereas Kurogane reacted to it for the first time, and so he had a much stronger reaction. He was honestly just tired. It might also have something to do with the fact that August has more energy than a hyperactive four-year-old.

But yeah. I haven't had much time to write lately, but don't worry-- I've got... Approximately two chapters after this written, and I've got lots of time tonight to work on it. So hopefully I can buckle down and get at least another chapter written, if not a few more. Thankfully I'm pretty sure how I want to end this, and so I won't have to wait forever to think up a good ending. However, the trouble is getting to the point where it just starts to unfold itself... And that, ultimately, is why I haven't finished this sooner. I've included a few scenes that weren't in the original storyboarding, so this is actually longer than it was originally meant to be. But that's a good thing, since this plot was pretty boring when I first thought it up.

I'm sorry. This is already so long. But. Sheesh, Psychotique. You sure know how to make me feel, like, intensely fabulous. Thank you soo-ooo-oo-o-o-o-o-o much. x'3 I really like that chapter too. And while seven is my favourite chapter, nine and eleven are my second favourites. Heehee.

ON TO THE STORY ALREADY!

**Chapter Ten.**

That evening Gwen truly enjoyed herself, for the first time in far too long. Kurogane, it seemed, had recovered sometime during the day and had left the house to find them, Mokona with him. When he had, it had been during the middle of the intense snow battle; seeing a friend completely snow-free, they had all begun pelting the poor, unsuspecting ninja mercilessly. Nearly five minutes later Kurogane emerged, drenched in snow from head to toe.

"Sheesh. I go through all the work to try and find you guys and this is the thanks I get," he grumbled. Gwen, grinning from ear to ear, hugged him tightly, she herself also so covered in snow that hugging him made no difference in her attire.

"Hey!" said Sakura, also beaming, "I think that we should all go out and eat dinner somewhere, since Fai-san cooks so often for us." August nodded enthusiastically.

"That is a fabulous idea, my dear!" he said, scruffling her hair fondly. And so the seven of them headed out to the nearest restaurant after Gwen dried them out-- a quaint place, with good food and a warm, comforting atmosphere. Along the way they'd run into Beatrix, and she accompanied them. The group of eight livened up the entire place; August especially, who seemed to never run out of things to talk about. His raucous laughter boomed throughout the establishment with a comforting regularity, his topics of conversation so all over the place that everyone had countless opportunities to chime in. He also seemed to take a quick liking to Beatrix, turning his irresistable charm upon her more often than naught.

Finally dinner was finished and they headed home, Beatrix also heading to her respective lodgings with a promise of a visit or Gwen and a kiss on the cheek for August. A silly grin lit up his face as she left.

It seemed the food and lively conversation had taken its toll on both Syaoran and Sakura, as the two headed off to bed soon after arriving home. It was pretty late, after all. Sakura and Gwen hugged before the smaller princess retired. Gwen had to follow soon after, August following her because he felt like it. Fai and Gwen kissed before Fai, too, left for bed. Kurogane, the last one left, decided that being up alone was boring and followed Fai to their room.

In Gwen's room, August sat on her bed while she changed quickly into her pajamas, pulling up her cascading blonde curls into an untidy knot on the back of her head. She leapt onto her bed next to him, still grinning. August was happy because Gwen was happy. He hadn't seen her in such high spirits in quite a while.

"I'm really glad you're back," murmured Gwen, nuzzling his chest. He cradled her against him. "Glad to be back, Ginny." Gwen sighed.

"Now from what I know of my big brother, he wouldn't follow me into my room unless he wanted to talk about something. Does he?"

"Yes," conceded August. "He does."

"So what is it?"

"... You're leaving aren't you?" Gwen hadn't expected that. The smile slipped off her face.

"How did you guess?" August shrugged.

"I guess I could just tell." Gwen sighed.

"Yes, I'm leaving."

"Why? When?" Gwen fidgeted, looking for the right words.

"Well... It has to do with Ashura. See, um, you already know that Sakura needs her feather back and that it's what's ultimately holding him underwater, and the only way to get the feather is to free him. And... Well, the reason Fai had to leave was because Ashura had tried to kill him. Fai said that what Ashura wanted was for me to become Witch so that he could use my magic to conquer surrounding lands, or something. And when Ashura wakes up, no doubt his goal will have stayed the same. Apparantly Fai thinks that, for my own personal safety, I should leave with him when the time comes."

"And he's right," said August firmly, catching Gwen off-guard. "As much as it will pain me to see you leave, I don't want you to stay here if it means you're in danger." Gwen looked down at her hands.

"If I leave, I may never come back," she whispered. August said nothing, his deep breathing filling the silence. Then he sighed.

"If it's meant to be, we will see each other again." Gwen looked up at him; his face was determined. "I love you far too much for this to be our last time together." Gwen smiled, then nodded.

"You're right." She sniffed.

"So... When do you think you'll have to leave?" She shook her head.

"It could be tomorrow, it could be in a month. However, I know that it won't be far off. We need to prepare for a rapid departure, and then we can go." August sighed again.

"I know you already know this, but I'll miss you." August's eyes were sad as he looked into hers. She bit her bottom lip, emotion swelling in her chest.

"Don't say it," she whined. "You're going to make me cry."

August pulled her into him, crushing her against his chest. Gwen squeaked as he squeezed her, and he laughed as she pretended to choke.

"Guh, you're killing me!" August released her, scruffled her hair, and kissed her cheek.

"I love you, Ginny. Now I'm off to bed. No doubt Fai will be in soon, because he probably thinks I've stolen you from him the last few days. So make yourself pretty while he waits for me to leave." August winked. "Well, prettier than you already are." Chuckling, he ducked a pillow projectile from Gwen as he got up and waltzed out the door.

Standing, Gwen ducked into her bathroom, making sure her hair looked presentable and her teeth were clean before heading to her closet. She quickly looked through all her clothes, pulling off her pajamas and pulling on the sexiest nightgown she had-- low-cut, knee-length, and sleeveless. Unfortunately Gwen didn't own many things that were sexy, partially due to the cold climate, but mostly due to the fact that Gwen had lived by herself or with her older brother most of her life. Those three factors combined meant she was depressingly lacking in the sexiness area. A knock at her door made her jump, and quick as lightning she leapt onto her bed and smoothed out the wrinkles in her nightgown.

"Come in!" said Gwen, belatedly grabbing a book from the nightstand and throwing it open in front of her face. She heard the door open and close, and then muffled laughter. She glanced over her book, and saw Fai leaning against the door frame, shaking with laughter.

"What?" she asked, perplexed. He wiped a tear from his eye, then jumped on her bed.

"The next time you try to be caught unaware, at least put the book right-side up." Fai took the book from her hands, turned it over, and replaced it. Gwen blinked, then blushed. Fai smiled.

"At least you're cute when you blush." He leaned in and kissed her cheek, then turned her face to kiss her lips. Gwen let the book drop to the floor, leaning into his kiss and putting her hands on the side of his face. Fai pushed her down onto the bed and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

"Nice dress, Gwen. However, I'm surprised you own anything like this at all, really." Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Thanks. You sure know how to make me feel better." She put her hand on his chest and sat up.

"I didn't mean you don't look nice, because you do. You look very nice." He leaned over and kissed her again, moving down her chin and over her neck. He stopped when he reached her collarbone, backing up and licking his lips, looking very pleased with himself.

"I see you dressed up a bit as well, hypocrite," accused Gwen, tugging on the collar of his dark silk pajamas. He chuckled sheepishly, his cheeks turning pink.

"August got them for me. I swear, he may as well be my brother as well, for all the things he does."

"He's just very elder brotherly." Gwen smiled. Fai tugged at the lacy hem of her nightgown.

"I'm glad you still feel like you have to impress me," he teased. Gwen flushed.

"I just thought I might as well look nice for you." She nervously pawed at her hair. Fai rolled his eyes and clasped her wrists in one hand, pulling them over her head and kissing her again. Fai pushed her against the headboard, moving his lips against hers and moving his free hand up her thigh. She squirmed, a laugh pulling the corners of her mouth upward.

"That tickles," she mumbled against his mouth. Fai sighed, pulling back and releasing her wrists.

"Your ticklishness ruins all my plans."

"Shame." Fai laid down on her bed, pulling her with him and settling her on his chest. Gwen rested her chin against his sternum.

"So... I've been wondering," she mumbled, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "When are we... Going?" Fai raised his eyebrows.

"Are you eager to leave?" he asked. Gwen shook her head.

"No. Actually, having August here complicates things. Before, I was fine about leaving, but now... I don't know." She fluttered her hands. "It'll be hard leaving him." Fai nodded.

"I know. That's... Actually one of the reasons I went to get him, so you could... I don't know, say goodbye? That sounds a bit harsh, but--"

"No, it's pretty accurate." Gwen sighed. "I'm glad you brought him. This way he isn't kept in the dark about it... I'd rather he not be left here alone, but he wouldn't want to leave. He's got a duty to his country." Fai petted her hair.

"It'll be okay. After Sakura collects her feathers, we can come back to Seresu. It's not like you won't ever see him again." He tried his best to be encouraging, but they both knew it wouldn't be that easy.

"Yeah." There were a few moments of silence. "Well, um, when do you think we'd leave?" Gwen asked hesitantly. Fai shrugged.

"We could leave tomorrow, we could leave in a week, we could leave in a month... We could leave in a year, though I doubt Syaoran would be willing to wait that long. He's very determined to get Sakura's feathers back."

"He's a sweet boy." Fai nodded in agreement.

"Well, I guess it comes down to when you think you're ready to go... After you and August have said your goodbyes, and you've got your affairs in order... You may have to pay a price to the Time-Space Witch in order to use Mokona, but seeing as we've already 'purchased' him, you might not... I don't know. We can talk to her later.

"And then, of course, we have to release Ashura." A grim look crossed over Gwen's face as Fai said his name. Then suddenly she looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear.

"Oh no. What are we going to do about August? Ashura knows how close I am to him; once he figures out that we're both gone he might try to get the answer out of August!" She was terrified, imagining all the awful things Ashura could do to try and make August talk. She knew he would never betray their whereabouts, but she was afraid that August would be hurt, tortured, killed even. Fai's brow furrowed; he hadn't thought of that.

"We'll get him to lay low for a while in another country. August likes the southeast, right? We'll tell him to go on an extended holiday for a while, so Ashura can't find him. That should keep him safe."

"Won't Ashura expect that?"

"Yes, which is why it will work. He will expect us to want to protect August, and he will assume that to do so we will send him as far away from here as possible, in someplace Ashura wouldn't expect. And so by sending August to a place so... Unsecretive, it will be the last thing Ashura expects."

Gwen looked uncertain, but moved on.

"And what about after his holiday is up?"

"Ashura will have left to look for us by then." There was a grim satisfaction in Fai's features. Gwen looked a little calmer.

"As long as he's safe." She rested her cheek against Fai's chest again, listening to the thumping of his heart. She closed her eyes, and felt Fai pulling the blanket over them both. The room grew dark as he put out the light.

"Goodnight, Ginny."

"'Night, Fai."

Outside the door, August stood quietly, careful not to make a sound; slowly, he walked up the stairs to the loft, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt as he went.

**End Chapter Ten.**

BATTLE SCENE NEXT CHAPTER! YAY YAY YAY YAY!

Some of you may have noticed that there is a suspicious lack of Mokona in this story. Why? Because to put it simply, I just don't like Mokona very much. Mokona is annoying. Cute sometimes, but generally annoying. So, uh, just assume that the abundance of magic in Seresu gives Mokona a headache, and so he/she/it sleeps all day. C:

My apologies to Mokona fans. xD; I just can't write the character at all. Fay? Fine. Kurogane? Fine. Sakura and Syaoran? ... Eh. Sort of. Gwen? Easy. August? Ridiculously easy. But Mokona? Blehh. I just can't. August is so easy to write because he's a very heart-on-his-sleeve character, and doesn't work so much in subtleties like many characters. He says what he's thinking, acts without inhibitions, and doesn't hide what he's feeling. That's probably why I like writing him so much. Plus, I generally just adore him... Yes, I made him. That doesn't mean I can't love him. xD


	11. Chapter 11

Guh! So many reviews from people who haven't reviewed before!! 00 Gwahh, you guys make me so happy! I'm sincerely flattered by your praise... Gosh. Augh. xDD I can't stop being all smiley.** Mangapix**-- Yeah, I wish August could go too. But he can't, since he's in the equivalent of the Seresan army, and has an intense desire to protect his country. And since Gwen understands that, she wouldn't make him choose between his country and his sister, so she's decided she's going alone. **Pebblekit**-- Ahhh. That's all I can say to your review. I squealed so bad when I read it. x3 I know! Mokona is annoying! Good sometimes, mainly for dissipating angst, but uh, yeah. Useless otherwise. And you're on spring break already? Sheesh. Mine isn't until week after next! But I'll be in Disneyland/Six Flags/Ashland Shakespeare Festival for most of it, with our school band. So I'm dreadfully sorry, but there won't be an update next weekend... But I promise that I will update pretty much as soon as I get back! ;3;

And as usual, I always look forward to **Psychotique**'s reviews, since they make me happy inside. x33

I'm just going to say that I'm very glad people like August, because he's supposed to be a very sweet, very kind man. And he is. But now you get to see the other side of him-- well, you sort of saw some of it earlier-- his battle-lusty side. He's so badass. It's quite funny (to me, anyway) how he makes a seamless transition between the two sides of his personality. And he's not a Gemini, even! Naw, Gwen's the Gemini. August is an Aries. Which I guess sort of makes sense, since Aries is the God of War in Greek mythology. I picked their birthdays very carefully, believe it or not-- I have two very large books that have an extensive personality profiling for every day of the year. It's supposed to be the supposed personalities of people born on their certain day. It's great fun, and they're surprisingly accurate... But yeah. Then my other book is relationships between the days of the year with other days-- or rather, weeks, since every day crossed with every other day would be insane. But yeah, I had a general idea of what I wanted their birthdays to be, then narrowed it down based on personality and the relationships between the weeks. A lot of thought and planning went into it, let me assure you. xx;

And yes, I am a nerd. C:

As to this chapter-- what you should know is that the Sirian nation is a very violent one, and they and Seresu have been on a knife's-edge with each other the entire story. So yeah, what happens isn't entirely out-of-the-blue...

**Chapter Eleven.**

Gwen was jerked awake hours later by a commotion outside. It must have been extremely early. The sounds of screams and the clanging of swords made her leap out of bed, and she was halfway to her closet before her muddled brain caught up with the actions of her body.

"Wha... Oh--" came Fai's voice from the bed; Gwen was already half-dressed and was tugging on her shirt. Fai was next to her in a flash.

"What's going on?" he asked urgently, keeping his voice low. Gwen shook her head, throwing on the first of her two long cloaks.

"It must be a revolt. The Sirians must be attacking." Fai looked taken aback. He had forgotten the trouble with their neighbour country.

"Let me get dressed," he said quickly, dashing though the door with Gwen in tow. Almost running to the front door, she sat on the floor to tug on her boots, then pulled on her thick overcoat. She stood, then walked briskly to the closet and opened it, pulling from within a long, thin blade. She tried to clip it to her belt with fumbling fingers, but it kept slipping.

"Let me help," a deep rumble from behind her said. She spun, her eyes overbright, and saw Kurogane already dressed, a sword at his hip. He took the weapon from her trembling hands and securely fastened it.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly. August almost flew down the stairs, his long dark cloak billowing about him, broadsword unsheathed and at the ready. Fai was next to arrive, a bow and quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder. Gwen noticed they were all somewhat breathless.

"Are we ready to leave, then?" she asked, unnessarily. The three men nodded. Suddenly Syaroan and Sakura's door opened.

"What's going on?" asked Syaoran, surprised. "Is there a battle?" August nodded. Syaoran gasped.

"Let me help, hold on--" He made to go back into his room, undoubtedly to change, but Fai stepped forward. Syaoran turned.

"Syaoran-kun, I know you want to help, but believe me, this battle will be dangerous. The Sirians are a violent people, and it's best to let us deal with it." Syaoran looked aghast.

"But I _want_ to help!" he said, indignantly. "I can't sit here knowing you're all out there fighting and twiddle my thumbs waiting for you to return!" His hands clenched to fists, desperation in his voice. "Please, let me go." Gwen stepped forward, opening her mouth to say something, anything, but Kurogane reached the young man first.

"Syaoran." The use of the boy's name caught Syaoran, Fai, and Gwen off-guard. Syaoran blinked. "Stay here. If the princess wakes up and finds us all gone, the first thing she will do is panic. Stay, if not for us, for her." Kurogane's tone was insistant and firm, but kind. Syaoran struggled with himself for a moment, then his shoulders slumped and he nodded.

"Fine." Kurogane clasped his shoulder briefly before turning and striding down the hallway, then opening the front door and stepping into the bitter cold; Fai, August, and Gwen hot on his heels.

They ran down the snowed-over path to the village, spurred on by the screams of the villagers. The telltale orange glow of fire was reflected on the trees as they clambered up the hill, then over the crest and into the light itself. The Sirian army had set a few of the houses ablaze, sending their occupants into a panic for cover. The Seresan men had bravely already stepped up to the plate, fighting their enemies valiantly. Dead bodies already littered the ground; most were Sirians, they were relieved to see, but there were several Seresans among the bunch. Gwen's first plan had been to try and talk some sense into the attackers, but she could see diplomacy was obviously beyond these barbarians. She struggled to keep her composure as her anger bubbled to the surface; she could feel August's infuriation beside her. With only a moment's pause they sped toward the Sirians awaiting them.

Gwen flung a spell at the first half-dozen men in front of her, knocking them out cold, then ran her sword through the stomach of her closest attacker. Fai loosed a dozen arrows more quickly than her eye could follow, each of them meeting its mark dead-on. August sprinted into the middle of a large group of especially vicious men, and without the inhibition of having to unsheath his sword swung his arm in a powerful arc, beheading two of the ruffians with a savage bellow. Ducking a swipe, he stuck his leg out straight and knocked the feet from under three of them, using his leg's momentum to catapult himself up again, and sliced the arm off another. He held a quick brawl with a tall, beefy man, before thrusting his blade into the man's chest. He then used his victim's blade to impale the man behind him.

Kurogane only now remembered Tomoyo's curse upon him. He cursed loudly, using the hilt of his longsword to knock out a Sirian with a blow to the head. He fumed. He would have to hold back, coming short of actually killing anyone; seeing August hacking away at his opponents not twenty feet away made him burn with jealousy. Not jealousy to kill for killing's sake, but a jealousy to be able to protect without the restraint and worry of losing one's strength with each death by his hand. Growling, he broke the arms of two more opponents who had tried to come at him from either side, and broke the knee of the man behind him with a swift kick. Maybe breaking some bones would help get out his aggression.

Fai was busy keeping to the back, firing off arrows with a deadly accuracy and keeping Gwen from being outnumbered; whether she was the ruler of the country or simply female, the men targeted her. He could see August desperately trying to make his way toward her, but he kept being cut off by the endless hoards of Sirian warriors. The fellow Seresans were holding their own, but sheer numbers were the problem.

"It's no use!" yelled August over the commotion, still fighting tooth and nail to get at his sister. Gwen didn't seem supremely worried. She was busy executing opponent after opponent with a startling efficiency. August felt a sudden flood of relief watching her fight; he hated to think how she would be handling herself had he not insisted on teaching her how to use a sword when she was younger. She kept calm, ignoring the jeers and snide comments of the people around her. August's blood boiled, but then again, he'd always been a passionate fighter.

"What do we do?" Fai shouted, loosing another arrow into the head of the man taking a swing at Gwen. The man fell, conveniently taking out the man behind him at the same time. "We can't keep this up forever!" The Sirians had grown even more violent as their numbers were reduced.

"Just keep going!" insisted Gwen. "Come on, Fai! Let's show them not to mess with the High Magicians of Seresu." Gwen ducked and was momentarily lost within the writhing mass of bodies, but before Fai could panic properly she was next to him.

"How did you do that?" he said, surprised. She grinned cockily.

"Magic." He wasn't entirely sure if she was joking or not. "Come on!" She sheathed her sword in a flash and drew spikey symbols in the air. Fai recognised the spell and joined it, layering her own magic with his to make the spell as powerful as possible.

"On three," Fai said. Gwen shook her head. "Now!" They flung the spell at the riot, where it hovered for a moment before exploding.

The effect was immediate. The warriors of Seresu had realised what was going on from the moment they saw the spell above them, and had plugged their ears in time to protect themselves from the sound bomb. Everyone with unprotected ears either fell to the ground in pain as their eardrums burst, or fainted from the decible levels. Gwen had added an extra layer to the enchantment at the last second which made the sound lesser to her comrades' ears, a difficult feat even in even peaceful moments. The spell had weakened her, as she lost her balance and stumbled into Fai; however, her quick thinking had probably saved August from excruciating pain; when he'd seen the spell, he dove to Kurogane to clap his hands over the ninja's ears, then shrugged his shoulders to press the cloth of his cloak against the sides of his head, screwing up his face as a last defense. As the bomb had gone off, it had certainly hurt, but it was not enough to take him out of the fighting, and it was better than losing Kurogane to his sister's merciless magic.

"Thanks," mumbled Kurogane, shocked, obviously caught completely unawares by the situation. August let go of Kuro's ears, motioning that he was struck temporarily deaf.

"Quickly!" yelled Gwen. The men of Seresu hurried to take out as many of the Sirians as possible, either killing them plainly or binding them tightly. The few who had been lucky and hadn't been as affected by the sound burst had begun fighting with renewed vigour, one in particular with a massive build hurtling toward Gwen and taking a wicked slice in her direction. Fai attempted to jump in front of her, but she kicked him out of the way, leaping at her attacker. She unsheathed her sword the same time she ducked a swing from his huge arms. With a swift movement she straightened, then thrust the blade forward into his stomach.

She then made the mistake of letting her guard down. If she hadn't realised how big a mistake it was at that moment, she would have imagined August chiding her for having done so. It was the first rule of the Royale Guard, after all. _Never underestimate your opponent._

The man hadn't seemingly been bothered by having a sharp piece of metal jammed into his innards; instead, he grinned, wrapping a thick hand around the blade and pulling it out of him with a sickening _shunk_. Quick as lightning his now bloodied hand was around Gwen's throat, her sword skittering away as he wrenched it from her grasp. Fai shouted something and made for the man, but was received with a foot to the stomach. Fai was rendered helpless as the air was knocked out of him, reduced to a gasping heap on the ground, watching the scene between Gwen and this despicable man in terror.

Gwen felt the hand around her throat tighten, choking as she clawed desperately at his iron grip-- she could feel the blood dripping down her fingers as she tore through his skin. He leaned forward, breathing his vile breath into her face.

"You stupid bitch. This is for the Sirian army." He threw her to the ground, then raised his sword with both hands above his head. Gwen heard someone yell in what sounded like utter terror, but her attention was focused on the Sirian bringing his sword down with a deadly force into her chest.

Kurogane had been ambushed by two men soon after they'd regained their senses, and he struggled as he tried to incapacitate them without killing them. Unfortunately it seemed that the only men to still be fighting were the smartest, the strongest, or both; some had seen the Seresans covering their ears and hastily mirrored their movements, and others were simply ignoring the pain. Either way, it spelled misfortune for the Seresans. Glancing to his left, Kurogane saw three men surrounding August, who was struggling to fend them off. The disorientation the bomb has caused, along with the innability to hear, was clearly frustrating the blonde warrior. Then Kurogane heard Fai's shouting, and spun in his direction.

He saw a huge Sirian troll of a man bearing down upon Gwen, who was suspended in the air by his hand around her throat, clearly gasping for breath as she vainly attempted to free herself. Fai was on the ground, also gasping for air. Gwen's bloodied sword lay on the trampled snow several feet away. As if in slow motion, the man threw Gwen to the ground, then raised his sword above her.

Kuro's legs couldn't seem to move fast enough, it felt like he were running through water instead of air. His ambushers were left behind him without a second thought. The sword was brought down with an exaggerated slowness, taunting him for being too late. Plans flashed before his eyes; ways to intervene, to knock her out of the way, to stab the man, _anything-- _he was fifteen feet away, ten feet away, five feet away--

August had killed two of the men surrounding him, but he was dizzy and slightly nauseous as he worked to beat down the third. His lack of an ability to hear was messing with his senses. He was later to react to things around him, and was unaware as to if anyone was behind him or in a blind spot. It was a soldier's nightmare. He'd been struck in the side, and could feel the blood dripping from his wound, adding to his light-headedness; a cuff to the forehead meant there was blood in his eyes, which he struggled to wipe away. Finally August managed to hack his enemy open, watching without batting an eye as guts spilled out of the man's ruined stomach cavity. Turning, he expected to see Kurogane fighting more men, but didn't see him anywhere. Looking around, he saw Kurogane running full speed at a man, who had a sword raised above his head. He saw that the person lying under the merciless blade's path was Gwen. Suddenly the only emotion he could feel was raw, unbridled horror, crashing over him with startling force as he stumbled to her. He was over fifty feet away, he knew he wouldn't make it in time, and yelled in his desperation. It added to the surrealness of the scene that he couldn't hear his own cry of 'no' as it ripped through his throat.

Gwen's brain couldn't process what was going on quickly enough. Her eyes saw it with perfect clarity, but it wasn't registering with any of her senses. Out of nowhere, it seemed, Kurogane barreled into the man above her. The man's blade continued it rapid descent downward, but he was moved so suddenly that instead of plunging into her chest, it knicked her side. She didn't feel any pain because of the adrenaline coursing through her, her heart pounding in a frenzy as she sat up, stunned. The sword stood erect next to her, wavering back and forth slightly, its tip firmly planted in the hard ground.

He'd realised the only choice was to attempt to knock the man off his feet, and Kurogane did just that. Sprinting full-tilt, he turned his shoulder and collided with a bone-crushing force into the man's side, and they skidded nearly ten feet on the icy ground before the friction pulled them to a stop. The Sirian bellowed in frustration and swung a punch at Kurogane, striking him hard in the jaw. However, there was too much adrenaline in his system, and he wasn't fazed for a second; he pulled back his arm and punched the man as hard as he could in the face. The Sirian fell over, and Kuro leapt onto his chest, pinning him into the ground, wrapping his hands around the man's throat and pressing both thumbs hard into his windpipe. He struggled to keep him subdued, as the man was very strong and the will to live often made one stronger in their desperation. The man's arms flailed for what seemed like eternity, eyes nearly bulging out of his head, before he twitched once-- twice-- and fell limp.

Kurogane stood up, then shuddered violently. He'd killed before, true, but it was with a sword. To use his bare hands to take a life left a far deeper impression than it would have if he'd used a weapon, and after not having killed someone in months, some of the numbness he'd accumulated had faded, making the deed seem far more sinister than he'd remembered.

"Kurogane?" said Gwen weakly, her voice squeaking on the last syllable. He turned very quickly; the adrenaline had shot his nerves. She stood slowly, shakily, leaning on the sword next to her for support. He half-ran to her, grasping her harm to hold her steady. She blinked a few times, then looked behind her at Fai. Fai was staring at Kurogane, aghast.

"You killed him." It wasn't a question, it was a stated fact. Fai gaped in disbelief. Kurogane nodded, grimly. Damn the curse to hell. If it meant he could protect the ones he cared for, if only once, then it was worth it to lose some of his strength. The strange thing was, though, that he didn't feel any different. Maybe he was too much in the rush of battle to feel it yet.

"Yeah." By the look on his face and the way he said it, it was obvious Kurogane did not want to talk about the subject.

August stumbled out of nowhere and, with his eyes wide and mouth open in fright, looked Gwen up and down to check for injuries before wrapping his arms tightly around her and beginning to sob.

"Thank God," he moaned, pressing his face into her hair. He was clearly a man distraught. Then again, it was unnerving to all of them how close she had come to being killed. She cradled the back of his head, whispering softly into his ear to calm him. She'd never seen him so upset before. After a minute he regained control again, sniffing hard and placing his hands on her cheeks, kissing her all over her face. She laughed weakly, then took his hand in hers while bending down to pick up her sword, sheathing it. She took a quick look around and saw that the last of the Sirians had been dealt with, and that the fires in the houses had been mostly put out.

"Come on, let's go home. We can come back later to help clean up." She pulled her brother along with her as she walked up the hill, wiping tears from her own eyes. Kurogane and Fai looked at each other, once, then followed silently behind them.

**End Chapter Eleven.**

Sorry, my pre-story rambles just keep getting longer and longer... Ahaha. -insert nervous laughter-

Sorry if that jumped around so much. The whole thing feels like it takes forever to execute, but in fact, the bulk of the action occurs in the span of about ten seconds. Wooo.

August crying was hard to write since I love him so darn much. ;-; But yeah, if that isn't a demonstration of how much August truly loves his baby sister, I don't know what would be. o.o And he says something next chapter that explains why he was so freaked out, so yeah. xD; There is, in fact, a reason, but it's not anything you couldn't probably figure out just by reading the story.

Neh. Ah luvs joo guyz. x3


	12. Chapter 12

I'm baaack! I had a splendid time down in the happiest place on earth (Disneyland, for those who don't know), but when I got back home I slept for almost a full day. Haha, good times, good times... But then I went to work on this story, and I've been trying to write a lot. I actually just wrote a scene I've had in my head for about a month or two, but it doesn't take place for quite a while... I've just really wanted to write it, and so I did. Even though it'll take a bit of time to actually get there.

But oh my gosh, you guys. 31 reviews?! ACK! That's so many! Wowzers! I'm kind of a lot gleeful right now. And to address what some people said about the battle scene... Yes, it was bloody, and yes, it was pretty brutal. However, I was adamant in my own head that it should be, since battles are often romanticised as being less awful than they really are. I didn't want it to be like that. People die and get hurt, and there is no mercy in war. And that's what it is, a war. And so that's why the violent imagery was so prevalent. It might also be that I got a bit carried away. xD But to me, at least, that was my favourite chapter to write.

And since I've been gone so long, and since you didn't get a chapter last week, you get an extra long one this time! Yay! Rejoice! And now on to this week's installment!

**Chapter Twelve.**

Gwen opened the front door and found Syaoran and Sakura waiting anxiously for them. Syaoran was pacing back and forth in front of the chaise in aggravation, fully dressed, while Sakura sat quietly looking at the floor, still in her nightgown, Mokona asleep in her lap. As the door opened, they both looked up. Sakura gasped when she saw August's bloodied and tear-stained face.

"What happened?" she said, standing quickly and hurrying to the door as Fai and Kurogane stepped through. They all looked rather grim, blood dripping from various wounds and bruises blossoming quite splendidly. Syaoran was very white. Gwen made August sit down on the couch; as soon as he sat he promptly put his face in his hands.

"There was an attack in the village by the people of the country of Sirian. They're our neighbouring country to the south, and they've long hated us. I guess they chose tonight to plan an attack. Though why they decided to stage it at--" she pulled a timepiece out of the pocket of her coat and checked it-- "Three in the morning is completely beyond me. Anyway, we had to take care of the situation." Kurogane and Fai were quiet, simply standing, faces curiously devoid of emotion, both lost in their own thoughts.

"How bad was it?" mumbled Syaoran, eyes wide. Gwen shook her head.

"Pretty bad. We managed to kill them all, but not without damage of our own." She sighed. Trust the worst attack on Seresan soil to happen under her rule.

"August-san," whispered Sakura suddenly, sitting on the couch next to him and leaning down to try and look at him. He didn't move until she tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. August looked up quickly, focusing on the small princess beside him and trying to smile. It looked pained.

"Sorry, Sakura. I'm a little shaken, that's all." The fact that he didn't say why made Sakura frown in concern. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything a loud whistle made them all jump-- everyone except August, who was still deaf. Gwen recognised it a moment later as water boiling in the teapot.

"I'll be right back," Sakura said, darting into the kitchen. The five left in the living room sat in silence while Sakura bustled about in the next room, the sound of water sloshing about in a bowl signaling her re-entrance. She had towels and bandages slung over one arm, and the other held a large bowl of hot water. At the curious looks, she simply said, "I knew you'd be injured when you came back."

August was obviously the most injured, and so he received her attention first. Syaoran also scrambled to help, reaching toward Kurogane. Fai and Gwen sat on the divan perpendicular to the chaise, not saying anything. Sakura was clearly in her element as she cleaned August's cut on his forehead with a towel doused in hot water, using a bottle of salve to disinfect it. She attached a bandage to the area, pressing gently to make it stick. August removed his cloak, then his shirt, so that she could bandage the gash in his side. The bandages from his fight with Kurogane were still there, and it was upsetting for Gwen to see him looking so worse for wear. The whole time he was being bandaged, August kept his eyes on the faded jade velvet and dark wood lining of the chaise beneath him.

Kurogane was easier to handle; a quick swipe of salve on his bruises, a bandage on the worst ones, and he was done. This was a bit of a relief for Syaoran, as it was worrying to him that such an uneasy silence hung in the air. He tried to move on to either Fai or Gwen, but they both denied treatment.

"I've got to go back to the village to help clean up," said Gwen, standing. Fai stood as well, saying he was going too. Kurogane offered, but Gwen told him and August she wanted them to stay.

"Let me go," said Syaoran, standing. "I wasn't able to help you earlier, so please let me help you now." Gwen hesitated a moment.

"Please," he repeated, looking desperate.

"Okay. We'll need all the help we can get." Syaoran thanked her gratefully, then ran to pull on his boots and cloak. The three left. Outside, Fai turned to Syaoran grimly.

"Syaoran-kun, I'm sure you're man enough to handle it, but trust me when I say that what happened was not pretty." Syaoran's eyes hardened a little, and he nodded solemnly. Over the hill, the view from before had changed for the better; the fires had been extinguished fully, and to Gwen's relief the damage was not as bad as she's feared. There wasn't anything so severe that she couldn't fix it for the most part with magic.

"Good God," whispered Syaoran.

Most of the bodies of the Seresans had already been returned to their families, but the bodies of the Sirians were being piled unceremoniously in a pile in the middle of the village square. The ground, usually white with ice and snow, was trampled and dark with blood and mud. A strange, iron-like smell hung in the air. Gwen scrunched her face in distate and anger.

"The Sirians will pay for this. How could their king have allowed such a thing? Does he honestly have no control over his people?" mumbled Fai, mostly to Guenevere. She shook her head and walked forward to the nearest Seresan.

"How bad are our losses?" she asked him softly, putting a hand gently on his shoulder. The man looked down at her, then bowed his head in respect.

"Not as bad as it could have been. We've lost a few warriors... But as I said, it could have been worse." Gwen looked consoled for a moment, then looked up at him again quickly.

"And Quinn? How is he?" By the look on the man's face, Fai assumed Quinn was the man's son.

"He's alive. He was injured a bit, but he'll make a full recovery." Gwen smiled, and said she was glad. As if to punctuate the conversation, the attractive, dark-haired waiter Fai had been jealous of a couple days prior ran out of one of the cottages and up to his father and Gwen.

"Guenevere!" said Quinn, surprised to see her. She ran up to meet him, hugging him tightly around the chest. He made a noise of pain, shying away from her.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. "Bruised ribs. They're a bit painful." She chuckled and hugged him much more gently.

"I'm glad you're okay." They continued to talk for a moment, going over damages having to do with population and property. Things weren't as bad as Fai's feared, fortunately. The death toll so far was up to twenty-seven men. He'd expected in the sixties.

"Most of us were hurt. A few managed to heal themselves during the battle, which probably saved their lives... Which is most likely why we had so few losses."

"Still, though, twenty-seven..." mumbled Gwen sadly. She shook her head, sighing. "This will not mean well for our fragile relationship with Sirian. Those bastards knew they were hovering on a knife's edge, why'd they do something like this? At least we killed their men. That will teach them not to take us lightly." Quinn blinked.

"You were in the battle?" he asked, perplexed. Her eyebrows raised.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, confused.

"Well," Quinn mumbled, blushing a bit. "It's just, you know, you're our Queen, and our Witch. I thought you'd... I don't know," he finished lamely.

"You thought I wouldn't fight?" He nodded, a little embarassed. Gwen grinned.

"I'm as much a Seresan as you are, with just as much pride in my country. I had to show those bastards who they were dealing with." Then she looked confused again. "How could you not know I was there? Did you not hear the sound blast?" Quinn shook his head.

"I was outside the spell's parameter, I guess. I was near the eastern bridge, cutting off the exit for fleeing soldiers." Gwen nodded, saying it made sense. A small woman poked her haid outside the door of Quinn's house, calling him back in. After a quick wave, he left for home, his father with him. Gwen took a deep breath, then turned to look at Fai and Syaoran.

"Shall we help clean up, then?" They both nodded, and the three of them hurried to help with whatever had to be done.

Half an hour later the Sirians were in a pile in the center of the square, and most of the blood was cleaned off the ground. The smell had dissipated to the point where they hardly noticed it anymore. Gwen consoled every family that had lost a son, a father, a friend. She was devastated to find that Thomas, one of her friends from childhood, had been killed, and hugged his mother with tears brimming in her eyes. Finally, she moved to the centre of the village, before the pile of bodies.

"People of Seresu!" said Gwen in a carrying voice. The conversations quieted at once. "What happened today will be known for a long time as one of the worst unprecidented sieges on Seresan ground. As Queen and Witch, I will make it my personal goal to punish the barbarians behind this." There were appreciative yells as she spoke, the villagers determined to have their justice. "I will not allow the Sirian king to escape unblemished from this occasion. We were at war with them before, and we will fight them again if they will not know their place!" More yells. "Those people will rue the day they decided to mess with Seresu, mark my words." As her empowering speech finished, she turned and with a quick sweep of spells, the mountain of casualties burst into flame. There was whooping and catcalls as the Seresan people celebrated the defeat of their enemies, as well as mourned their losses. Syaoran, who had helped tend to the wounded, looked up at Gwen in curiosity. She knew his question before he asked.

"In Seresu we believe that when someone dies, though it is a sad occasion, we should make their passing bearable." She sniffed. "That is to say, we don't believe in dwelling in our own depression forever. We all grieve for our loved ones, but that itself is... a more private matter." She fell silent, looking down. Syaoran felt vaguely as if he were missing something, but looked away respectively as Fai leaned in and kissed her temple.

"Let's go home," murmured Fai softly. Gwen nodded.

"What about the fire?" asked Syaoran quickly. "Should it be left, or..."

"Don't worry about it," said Gwen, smiling. "It's magic; it will burn quickly, cleanly, and leave no trace." Syaoran nodded in understanding, took one last look at the pillar of flame, and followed the two tall blondes back to the house.

Once back inside, Gwen was slightly upset to see August sitting tensely on the chaise, still looking downward. Sakura and Kurogane each had a cup of tea. Mokona was asleep in Sakura's lap. The young princess was looking tentatively at August, her hand comfortingly on his arm. They looked up as the three walked in the door, the cold gust of wind making the fire in the hearth flutter.

"Are you okay?" asked Sakura anxiously, addressing the question mainly to Syaoran, who blushed a little but said he was fine. Sakura accompanied him as he headed off to bed. Kurogane looked at both Gwen and Fai in turn, then let out a deep breath.

"Your brother isn't faring so well," he muttered, staring into his tea. Gwen didn't say anything as she swept over to August, sitting next to him and pulling his face up to look at hers.

"August," she said firmly. The man nodded. "Are you alright?" He nodded again, but looked away as he did so. She made him look at her again, annoyed. "Tell me the truth." August looked at her for a long moment, then sighed.

"I'll be fine." He voice was strangely garbled; as he couldn't hear himself speak, it was hard for him to judge how his voice sounded. Gwen sighed.

"Am I the only one who needs a drink?" She turned in the middle of the sentence to look at Fai and Kuro, but August held her chin and pulled her face back toward him.

"I can't read your lips when you look away," he said, grinning crookedly. Gwen's features grew worried, and she bit her lip, placing her hands gently over his ears.

"This is going to hurt," she whispered softly. August watched her mouth as she spoke, then nodded. He closed his eyes. Gwen mumbled something; a second later August flinched and screwed up his face against the pain, Gwen having popped his eardrums.

"Can you hear me?" she asked tentatively. He blinked a few times, then nodded.

"I really need that drink now," he said weakly. Gwen ran to the kitchen, filled four glasses with her strongest alcohol, and hurried back. The first glass went to August who wasted no time in tipping it back and drinking it all in one go. Kurogane copied him, but Fai and Gwen took their time drinking theirs.

"So what's wrong?" said Gwen after August had returned from refilling his glass. August leaned his head back against the chaise, his bare chest rising and falling gently. He frowned, looking sadly at his glass.

"...I thought you were going to die," he said, very softly. "I hope you never have to feel the sheer terror that ripped through me as I thought I was going to have to see you killed in front of my eyes." He looked at her seriously. "The worst part was knowing that I would be too late, knowing I couldn't save you." August took another long draught of alcohol, and a deep breath. Then he looked at Kurogane. "So... Thank you for saving Gwen. I guess I owe you my life, because without her, mine would be over." Kurogane shook his head.

"You don't owe me anything. You saved me from having my ears blown out. We're even." August huffed.

"I saved your ears. You saved a life. They aren't equal to each other," he insisted.

"You saved me at your own expense. I saved Gwen at no expense. It was nothing to kill that man. We're even," Kurogane grumbled insistantly. He glanced sharply at Fai when August and Gwen weren't looking. Fai shut his mouth; he'd been ready to 'remind' the ninja of Tomoyo's curse, but realised Kurogane didn't want them to know about it. August had to admit that Kurogane had a point, but it didn't make him feel any better. Perhaps if the dark-haired man realised how deeply August's affection for his sister ran, he would understand why it didn't feel like a fair trade. The blonde man opened his mouth to argue further, but Kurogane interrupted him.

"Look, if you really feel like you should, you can pay me back another time, if I'm in trouble. But until then, just drop it." August shut his mouth, then hung his head.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "It's just..." He didn't finish, but rested his head against his sister's shoulder. Gwen turned her head to place a kiss on her brother's curls.

Fai coughed quietly. "So... Should we plan something? You know, for a counter-attack? Sirian would not have done something like this without a secondary plan. They'll have something else up their sleeves, mark my words. I just think that we should have some sort of defense, a plan for attack ready." Kurogane nodded, once. Gwen looked between them, then at August, who was looking up at her while still leaning on her shoulder.

"Not now. It's late, and we've just fought a very tiring battle. The Sirians are a dangerous, battle-loving people, but not necessarily intelligent. They won't have planned another attack this soon, and even if they had, we've annihilated any men that could attack again. I think we should get some sleep tonight so that we can plan with clear heads tomorrow."

"I agree with Ginny," said August. "By tomorrow we'll have rested and calmed down a bit. Then we can plan for our retaliation."

"Okay," said Fai, standing. "We'll plan tomorrow." Kuro stood silently, and watched as Gwen helped August to his feet.

"I'll take him upstairs," said Gwen. "You two should get to bed. It's going to be a rough day tomorrow." And without another word, she and August left the room. The sound of August's boots was curiously loud as the two walked up the stairs to the loft, or maybe it was just very quiet in the house.

Kurogane frowned in the several moments of silence that followed their departure. Fai looked at him nonchalantly.

"You look like you want to say something," he murmured. The ninja huffed, looking a little confused.

"Why are they so close? So... Dependent on each other? I have the feeling I'm missing something."

"Ahh," indulged Fai. "I was wondering when this would come up. Yes, their love for one another is curiously strong, but not without reason." Suddenly Fai looked slightly embarassed by something. "I'm not entirely sure Gwen would want you knowing this, as she's a very proud person and doesn't like to... Well, it's more that she had a difficult past, and... She's only ever talked about it a few times. With me, at least." Kurogane could sympathise. He didn't like talking about his own past; it wasn't that he was embarassed by the horrors of his childhood, and it wasn't like it was a particularly touchy subject, it was just...

"But I guess it wouldn't hurt you to know. It's not like she's had a dreadful life, or anything." Fai took a deep breath in preparation for his speech.

"Well, August was born five years before Gwen. To be specific, he was born five years, two months, and eight days before her." Kurogane blinked, surprised that he had it down to the day.

"August's birthday is the seventh of April, Gwen's is the fifteenth of June," Fai supplied quickly. "Anyway. Their parents, Nikolas and Jane, were good people. Very nice. But, well, when August was thirteen-- Gwen was eight-- they died unexpectedly. I guess to put it more accurately," said Fai softly, "The Finlaures were murdered. Evidence points to that conclusion, anyway. Both were young, spirited, very clever, and good fighters... In perfect health." Fai shook his head.

"It was devastating, to their children especially. You see, in Seresu children are apprenticed at the age of twelve into a profession they've shown a certain aptitude in. Before that, parents tutor their children, traditionally. August had been apprenticed into the Royale Guard, which didn't surprise anyone as Nikolas had been a bit of a legend in the Guard's ranks, and had taught his son to handle a sword from a young age. But only a year after being apprenticed August was suddenly alone in the world, thirteen years old, and with an eight-year-old sister to care for. Gwen, similarly, was at a loss for what to do for a while. Thirteen is very, very young to have to make the decisions of an adult, after all.

"My parents and the Finlaures were pretty close, and so when Nikolas and Jane died we offered to take care of Gwen while August had his training. However, August seemed determined to stay with his sister, as she was the only family he had left. Gwen, likewise, did not want to be away from her brother. It shows August's iron resolve, I think, that he balanced tutoring Gwen, feeding her, dressing her, and generally caring for her at that age while simultaneously managing his own life. It was pretty remarkable, looking back on it. He used to joke that his parents made it look far easier than it was.

"So I guess the reason they love each other so much is because... They're all they have in the world. The only family still alive. In Seresu it's uncommon to have more than one or two children to a family, and so extended families tend to be small, also. They grew up taking care of each other, having to learn to communicate like adults in order to make their way of life work. It was a close call, sometimes-- for instance, if they got into an argument and infuriated each other, they wouldn't speak to one another lest they do something irreversable, or leave a permanent scar on their relationship. But in the end they came out stronger for it, I think. I'm an only child, so it's hard to try to relate with their situation, but watching it from an outsider's point of view was a humbling experience. Not at the time, so much, but in hindsight."

Kurogane slouched in his seat, staring hard at the wall. "It's pretty amazing they aren't more messed up than they are." There was no other word for it.

"Yes," said Fai lightly. "I'm pretty glad, though, that August made it work, because if Gwen had come to live with us, our relationship would probably borderline incestuous. And that would be uncomfortable." He tittered a bit at his own joke.

Not entirely satisfied yet, Kurogane leaned toward Fai to question him further. "So when you brought him here, her brother said that they hadn't seen each other for eight months. Where had he been?" He had to admit, he was curious about Gwen and August's unusual past.

"Well, it's nearly December now, just so you know, for reference. In March August had an opportunity to rise up in the ranks to General, which for a twenty-four-year-old-- since he was twenty-four at the time-- is a huge opportunity. He's always been rather gifted in the areas of combat and strategy. But he was hesitant to leave, since Gwen was here, and if he accepted the proposal he would be moved down to a station further south. But Gwen told him to leave, because then she was nineteen and fully capable of taking care of herself. At that time she and I were both apprenticed to the High Wizard. So August left, and was gone for eight months. Very shortly afterward I became Wizard, and Gwen was... My apprentice, funnily enough. But about a month later..." He trailed off, looking guilty.

"You left," supplied Kurogane. His tone was not accusing in any way, which Fai appreciated.

"Yes. I left, and... Gwen has been ruling since."

"She doesn't have the tattoo, though?"

"No," said Fai, frowning in thought. "You see, that tattoo is bestowed upon the High Magicians because it works as an amplifyer for our magic. It by no means increases them, rather, just focuses them."

"I don't get it," said Kurogane.

"Hmm... Okay, think of magic like the flame of a candle. On its own it provides light enough, but if you need more light it doesn't really help. It give off a lot, but it isn't concentrated, and goes in all directions. Then say the tattoo is... Um... A mirror. The light reflects off the mirror, making it more concentrated, and brighter. The flame itself gives off no more light that it did originally, but thanks to the amplifyer it's more controlled, and brighter where you need it. That's sort of how it works."

"So the tattoo is the mirror to your flame?"

"For lack of a better analogy, yes."

"Ah." Kurogane thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Good," said Fai, letting out a breath of relief, "Because I have no idea how else I would explain it."

Gwen's soft footsteps signaled her return to the sitting room; Fai turned to look at her, and Kurogane straightened slightly.

"You two are still here?" she said, yawning. "You ought to go to bed. We're in for quite a day tomorrow." Kuro stood up, then walked to the hallway, where Gwen was currently standing.

"Goodnight," he mumbled, blushing just a bit as she hugged him tightly.

"Goodnight, Kurogane. And thank you." He nodded, then walked past her, down the hall a bit and into the first door on the left into his room. Fai, too, stood and walked over to Gwen.

"Do you want to be alone tonight?" he asked softly, placing his hands gently on the sides of her face. She shook her head slightly.

"No. I'll need you to distract me. Or keep me sane, whichever."

"Keep you sane?" he asked. She smiled crookedly.

"I've just had a near-death experience, silly. I could, I don't know, suddenly freak out and run around the house in naught but my underwear screaming about fish." Fai shook with silent laughter.

"I would like to see that."

"Well, that makes one of us, at least."

Back in Gwen's room, it took a while to get ready for bed; Gwen insisted on showering to rid herself of the grime of battle, and then dressed in her nightclothes and brushed her teeth before finally hopping between the sheets. Fai wasted no time in wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. He kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Ginny."

"Goodnight. Again."

**End Chapter Twelve.**

I really need to write more if I'm going to keep up with my updating trend. Be patient with me if I ever end up having to skip a week... Hahaha. I'll try not to let it get to that, though.


	13. Chapter 13

UGH. I'm dreadfully sorry, guys! has been down every time I've tried to update. Which is crap. Dreadfully sorry.

So. I'm also sorry that this is such a short chapter-- but it's almost all Kurogane, whom I love, and so if you love him as much as I do then this is a good chapter. xD; It's also got Tomoyo in it. Which I guess is also cool. Since she hasn't been in here yet.

Haha, yeah! I'm a band kid. I play flute. It's pretty darn great. x3 Our trip was amazing, except now back here in Portland it's cold. San Fran was warm. Portland is cold. Blehh.

I feel terrible about not posting in so long. Just as a last word. Ehehe. Please don't kill me?

**Chapter 13.**

Kurogane was back home. But he wasn't, he knew, because he was in Seresu, in the strange, plush bed that was elevated off the floor in Gwen's house. Thus, he was certain he was dreaming.

However, it was nice, this dream. It smelled like home.

He missed Nihon. He missed the grounds of Shirasaki castle, the nighttime strolls, guard duty, his bed, even the simple pleasure of sitting outside on a nice day and sharpening Ginryu. What he missed most, though, had to be Tomoyo. He supposed that his affection for his princess was similar to August's affection for his Queen; both were the only family the men knew. Kurogane missed her smile, her charm, the way she laughed when she played tricks on her ninjas. Even just her presence.

As if summoned by his thoughts, Tomoyo herself appeared from nowhere.

"Tomoyo?" Kurogane asked hesitantly. There was something about this dream, he realised. It seemed very... Real. Tangible. Like it was more than just his imagination at work.

"Hello, Kurogane," she said. Yes, this was his Tomoyo. Suddenly he realised what was going on.

"You're... It's really you. You're visiting me in my dream," he said, eyes widening. She smiled more widely.

"Correct." She fixed the alignment of her kimono before addressing him again.

"Do you know why I'm here, Kurogane?" she asked seriously. He nodded. The curse. Of course.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself? An explanation?"

"The guy was about to kill Gwen. Too many people rely on her, and... Her death would be worse than me losing some of my strength. I knew what killing that man meant, and I accept the consequences of my actions." Tomoyo raised her eyebrows.

"Do you regret it?" she inquired quietly. Kurogane had thought about it... If there had been another way, then perhaps he would feel regret, but at the time, there had been no other option. On the battlefield it was kill or be killed.

"No," he said firmly. "I don't."

"Would you do it again?"

"...Yes." Kurogane knew that if he were presented with the same circumstances, he would make the same choice. There was nothing he could have done. Suddenly Tomoyo looked very, very happy.

"That's just what I wanted to hear," she said proudly.

"What?"

"The curse that I put on you was one that prevented you from taking _unnecessary_ life. You heard it as everytime you killed someone, your strength would diminish. I did it purposely to make you think that. The time when someone else's life meant more to you than your strength, even for just a moment, was the time that you could kill not for your own agenda, but to help someone else. And so, I am here to lift the curse."

"Are you serious?" breathed Kuro, aghast.

"Quite," Tomoyo smiled. "But first, I have a question for you." She paused. "Do you want to come home?"

"Yes," he answered instantly.

"I can take you home right now, should you wish it. Do you want me to bring you home, Kurogane?"

Such a dilemma Kurogane had never faced. He wanted more than anything to be home in Nihon again, to see his fellow ninja, to be around people who understood him. That was, after all, his wish. But then he thought about Syaoran, the kid who would do anything to save his princess. Sakura, who was young, innocent, sweet, caring... Fai, Gwen, August; he could not abandon them. He'd always believed that the instant Mokona landed in Nihon it would be a goodbye, and that he wouldn't miss them. But thinking about it, goodbyes were harder than he'd realised.

"I'm sorry, Tomoyo," he said. He set his mouth in determination. "My wish is still to return home, but I can't leave them now. The kid needs help collecting the feathers. As much as he'd like to believe, he can't do it alone, and so until the time the manjuu takes me to Nihon I'll stay with them." Tomoyo looked surprised for a moment, then smiled even wider.

"I'm glad you said that." She chuckled. "If you hadn't, I would have assumed that you didn't learn your lesson fully, and I would have left the curse. But since you answered as you did, the curse comes off." She waved her hand, and suddenly Kurogane felt a great weight lift off of him, leaving him feeling lighter than air.

"Thank you, Tomoyo," he said. "I will be back home, mark my words."

"Oh Kurogane," whispered Tomoyo, her beaming smile radiant. The tears in her eyes were tears of utmost joy as she slowly walked toward him. "I am very, very proud of you." She reached up with her small hands, pulling his face to her level and kissing his forehead. She hugged him tightly around the neck, chuckling all the while.

Kurogane woke from his dream, and realised the tears on his cheeks were his own.

**End Chapter 13.**

I promise that next week will have a chapter, and it will be longer. xD Sorry, guys!


	14. Chapter 14

Hello my dears! I hope you've all been well. I've been pretty great, myself, considering it's a great sunny day and it's actually warm. Here in Portland (which, for those who don't know, is the city in northern Oregon xD) it's rather uncommon to have such great weather in April. It's usually rainy and cold until about halfway through May, and after about halway through September. But in between i's nice and mild. A hot day to us is... Anything above 80 degrees, really. We're pansies, I know. But it's a very mild climate around these parts.

Now that your geography lesson is over, let's get into the story discussion. The plot has really beefed up since when I thought it up nearly three years ago (I'm 16 in about a month and a week!), and so I've got another subplot to finish before they can retrieve the feather. However, I often will skip ahead and write short scenes I've got in mind and don't want to forget, way before they'll ever be in the story. Take last chapter, for example. I wrote the ending weeks and weeks ago. And last week I wrote one of the ending scenes. It actually had me in tears, too, since it's a very sad scene. The ending is... Depressing, for lack of a better word. It doesn't really end very happily. D:

But anyway, on to the new chapter!

**Chapter 14.**

"Fai," asked Gwen late the next afternoon, "Why did you have such a strong reaction to being in the castle?"

Fai, Gwen, August, Kurogane, Syaoran, and Sakura were sitting around the table in the living room, a map of Seresu spread over the wooden surface. They had been planning strategies of defense and attack against the Sirians, and Gwen's question was very out-of-the-blue.

"You couldn't feel it?" asked Fai incredulously, staring at her in disbelief. Gwen shook her head, confused.

"Feel what?"

"The magic seeping from the place was nearly suffocating me. I've never felt anything like it. It was awful."

"You mean, Ashura's magic?" she said. Fai nodded.

"We're going to have to do something to dispel its intensity before we have any sort of siege on Ashura," mumured Gwen to herself, frowning. "But I wonder why I didn't feel it?" She looked troubled that Fai was feeling a magical force she was immune to.

"Perhaps it was a lingering feeling toward myself that remained with him after I left," Fai suggested. "He wasn't really thinking about you at that time, or anyone else, really, and so perhaps all of his anger and frustration is being taken out on me. But it's strange. Magic hasn't ever made me physically sick before..."

"We can't afford for it to happen again," said Gwen firmly. "I'll try and see if I can find a way to circumvent the problem before we have to face it."

Sakura and August were sitting on the chaise, bowls of porridge in hand, poring over a map of Seresu. Occasionally one would point something out, murmuring softly to the other. They were busy plotting out the most likely plans of attack from Sirian; Sakura had an uncanny knack for predicting what the Sirians were likely to do, which surprised August pleasantly. Sakura was delighted that she could finally help them all, and August was glad that the young princess was happy. August was an easy man to please.

They had spent hours planning and preparing for a war against Sirian. It wasn't entirely known if there was going to be a war at all, but Gwen knew that it was best to be prepared. Her people felt the same way. Syaoran and Kurogane had been working out plans of attack, with some help from Fai. Gwen, meanwhile, had been sorting out her affairs for a departure in the near future.

-

"Okay," Gwen murmured. Her hand was to her forehead, and her eyes were tired and slightly bloodshot. It was nearly one in the morning, and everyone was still awake-- everyone, that is, besides Sakura, who was fast asleep with her head in August's lap, and Syaoran, who had been nodding off for the last half-hour and had finally rested his head against Kurogane's shoulder and closed his eyes for the night. "Now, I believe that if we barricade the south and west entrances to Seresu, and leave through the east, we can at least get to Sirian through their rear bridge... From there, we will have to remain bland enough so that we don't draw attention to ourselves while we sneak to their stronghold."

"What about our hair?" asked Fai, equally exhausted. "Seresans have the trademark blonde, while Sirians have a dark brown, usually."

"There are some Seresans with dark hair," she reminded him. "Quinn, for example. And Beatrix. We'll let them handle any conversation or bartering, and the rest of us can either wear hoods, or if we feel so inclined, rub soot or something into our hair."

"Couldn't we just use magic?" asked August.

"No." Gwen looked swiftly at her brother, tweaking one of his curls. "They'll be able to feel the imprint of magic-- the most educated, at least. And there's no doubt in my mind that once they feel any hint of a threat the entire populus will be notified." She grimaced. "Which would be bad."

"Why?" growled Kurogane. He had been careful to remain stationary as not to disturb the boy using him as a pillow. "We could just kill anyone who comes our way." Gwen bit her lip, then sighed.

"No. We can't. I realise that while they harbour no good will toward us as a nation, and will obviously not show us mercy, we ought to not go in to their land and kill senselessly. We may kill those who are old enough to know what they are doing," she quickly ammended at the look in the ninja's eye, "But if a boy Syaoran's age, for instance--" she glanced at his peaceful face, "--was to come at me, I would not, and could not, kill him. And so while we will not be pushovers, we shall not kill senselessly, either." Kurogane seemed to think this was fair, and nodded.

"Back to the strategy. Once we are in the Sirian stronghold, we will unleash the full force of our viciousness, and show those bastards who they're messing with." August was grinning splendidly at the thought of the awaiting seige.

"I'll be looking forward to slitting the throat of their king," he said with relish. Gwen looked at him reproachfully.

"Hopefully it won't come to that," she said. "I'd rather not pit us into a bloodbath, if the choice is at all possible." August sighed.

"Whatever. I'll still be looking forward to doing it sometime, though." He yawned very widely and leaned against the chaise's back, smoothing Sakura's hair out of her face.

"Bedtime," said Fai, when Gwen yawned like a cat after her brother. August very gently lifted Sakura's head off of his leg, stood, and scooped her into his powerful arms. He kissed Gwen on the cheek before taking Sakura away. Kurogane followed in a similar fashion, although preferring to hold his student to his chest with one arm. Syaoran's head lolled against his teacher's shoulder as he was carried down the hall and into the second door on the left. Fai helped Gwen to her feet, then bent to fold the maps of Seresu and Sirian quickly while his lover teetered slightly from sleep deprivation. Sweeping her over his shoulder, he stood fully upright and carried her into her room. It was a mark of how tired she was that she didn't protest, and simply sighed softly as she was laid on her bed. The simple, navy silk dress she'd worn that day was pulled over her head and hung in her closet after a quick cleaning spell, and her black leggings were pulled off as well. Fai redressed her in a simple pair of men's boxer shorts-- probably August's-- and a shirt of his own. Her breathing was slow and even. After tucking her in to bed and settling himself next to her, the blonde man leaned in and kissed the white, nearly translucent skin of her throat. He grinned at the miniscule shiver that ran through her as he did so. Turning off the light with a flick of his hand, he had just settled in for a good night's sleep when Gwen suddenly spoke.

"Please remind me why I'm going with you," she whispered. Fai blinked.

"What?.. Um." He struggled to think through the haze in his brain. "You... Um... You're coming because I love you. And you love me. And because if you stay then Ashura will either use you or kill you. Which is bad."

"I mean, besides that," she whispered. "Why am I going? Why am I leaving my home, my brother, and my people?" Fai frowned.

"You... I'm not forcing you to come with me," he murmured. "You may stay... If you like." He looked at her remorsefully. He hadn't meant to make her feel obliged to do things against her will, purely because he asked it. She immediately shook her head.

"No, no," she said quickly. "I want to go with you. I love you. I want to stay with you."

"Then you've answered your own question," Fai said simply. When she didn't answer, he drew soothing circles on her collarbone with his fingers, and sighed.

"Look, Ginny... I want you to do what it is that feels best. I'm going to respect and support your decision, whatever it may be. So don't worry about it. You've still got time to make up your mind." Gwen continued her silence, staring hard at the ceiling. Finally she sighed, then rolled so that her back was to Fai.

"Goodnight," she mumbled. Fai frowned, confused, but pulled her waist so that he could spoon his legs behind hers. He kissed her neck below her ear.

"I love you," was all he said.

**End Chapter 14.**

I'm sorry, I don't know if that one was very long... But some info is revealed, I guess, and the next subplot is set up. It's more of an introductory chapter to what's going to happen next. Haha. Don't kill me if this chapter isn't very long. xD; I love you guys?


	15. Chapter 15

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update last week-- I've been having some problems lately that I won't go into because they're boring, but I have had very little time for updating. I hope you understand!

This chapter might be a bit... Uneventful, and I apologise. It's kind of the transitional chapter between here and there, metaphorically, and so this is kind of setting up between the two subplots.

That being said, I hope you enjoy it anyway! xD

**Chapter 15.**

Gwen woke the next morning feeling as though she hadn't slept at all. Fai's body was curled around her, his arm slung protectively around her waist, chin resting against her shoulder; his warm breath against her throat was comforting. She sighed, trying to decide whether or not she should get up, or try and sleep. Twenty minutes later she realised sleep was not going to be possible this morning. Very carefully detaching herself from the man behind her, she slid to the edge of the bed, shivering as her feet touched the wood floor, and stood. Fatigue stiffened her limbs, making the short trek to the bathroom seem longer than it was. She undressed quickly and stepped into the shower, turning it as warm as her skin could stand, letting the jet of water pound the back of her neck. This loosened her joints a bit. After several minutes of standing stock-still she turned the water off, stepped out, and dried quickly with a thick white towel, wrapping it firmly around her and walking into her closet. She picked out an outfit-- leggings, and the usual dress-- and put it on. She returned to the bathroom to hang up her towel so that it could dry after quickly pressing the moisture out of her long, blonde hair.

Tip-toeing back to the bed, Gwen saw Fai, still asleep, curled into a ball. His chest rose and fell gently. She looked at him and sighed, brushing his hair out of his eyes with the lightest of touches she could manage.

It wasn't his fault that Gwen was upset. It was no one's but her own, of course. But still, the whole situation was so stressful, and she didn't feel that there was anyone who she could talk to about it.

Gwen pulled the covers up to Fai's chin, then kissed him gently on the lips. The corners of his mouth twitched upward.

In the kitchen it was colder than her room. Gwen crossed her arms in front of her chest to conserve body heat, turning on the stove to heat the air. She set about preparing something for breakfast. There wasn't much that she knew how to make, but she set some bacon on a frying pan to heat up, and stirred some porridge she managed to procure.

"Gwen?" came a deep, sleepy voice from the arched entry into the kitchen. She jumped; she hadn't heard Kurogane until he was only feet behind her. Turning to smile at him, Gwen accidentally tipped over the bowl of fruit she'd been slicing, sending the colourful food skittering over the counter.

"Oops," she said, looking at it. She stared for a moment, trying to think of what to do. Kurogane sighed, then scooped the breakfast back into its bowl, heading to the sink to rinse it off. Gwen thought she heard him mumble something about 'hopeless' and 'don't know how she ever lived alone'.

"Thanks." She pressed her lips together firmly to keep from grinning.

"No problem." He plopped the bowl back on the counter, picking up the knife Gwen had been using and taking up the task as if nothing had happened.

"So, why are you up so early?" she queried, stifling a yawn. The ninja glanced at her for a moment, hesitating, then continued.

"Couldn't sleep." Gwen sighed.

"Neither could I."

"Is the mage still sleeping?"

"Yes. I didn't want to wake him up. We all need as much sleep as we can get..." She yawned again. Kuro frowned.

"You ought to be in bed. It's early and you're obviously tired." Gwen shook her head, bouncing on her heels to wake herself further.

"No, I'll be fine," she assured him. "I probably couldn't get back to sleep if I tried." He studied her for a moment, still frowning, then allowed himself a small smile.

"Same here." He tipped the last of the sliced fruit into the bowl, setting the knife in the sink. "Your food is burning," he added, as the bacon sizzled loudly in its pan.

"Ah!" Gwen exclaiming, leaping fluidly around the burly man blocking her way and flipping the meat quickly. It quieted a bit, and she sighed in relief. Kurogane rolled his eyes in his amusement. She was a very silly person sometimes. Quiet footsteps appeared in the hall, and both adults turned to see who else had woken. A yawning, stretching Sakura walked in, carrying a sleeping Mokona and rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Sakura," said Gwen cheerfully. Sakura beamed.

"What's with the white thing?" asked Kuro. "It's been out of it ever since we got here." Sakura petted the small creature's head.

"Unfortunately, there's too much magic in the air in Seresu," she explained. "It makes Moko-chan very tired." Gwen nodded, understanding. There was an awful lot of magic here. Suddenly the bacon was burning again, and Gwen yelped as she attempted to fix the problem.

"Um, Gwen-chan... Would you like me to take over? Fai-san taught me how to cook in Outo," said the princess sympathetically. Gwen laughed sheepishly, grateful.

"That would be great." Sakura hurried to the stove. "I've never had the knack for cooking."

"Then why did you try?" asked Kurogane under his breath.

"I felt like I could do it this morning." The ninja actually laughed full-out.

"You're ridiculous," he chuckled.

Gwen left the kitchen, traipsing up the spiral stairs to the loft and into August's room. Her brother was currently sleeping, sprawled on his back, naked except for a pair of fleur-de-lis boxers, covers kicked mostly off of him. His hand twitched; he was dreaming. A goofy smiled crossed his face. She sat on the edge of the bed, watching him without really seeing him, thinking once more about the indecision she suddenly felt. Leave with Fai and lose her brother, or stay with her brother and lose Fai?

August's eyelids fluttered open. He blinked several times, then saw Gwen and grinned again.

"This is unexpected," he said. He stretched, yawning widely, then sat up. He wrapped his arms comfortingly around his sister, grinning. Gwen, likewise, embraced him.

"Good morning," she said softly. "How did you sleep?"

"Very well. I had a very strange dream, though."

"What was it about?"

"I'm not telling," he sniffed. "Although I'm moderately certain it had something to do with a hot pink t-rex."

"That is very strange indeed," agreed Gwen. August was known for having rather interesting dreams. "Are you planning on coming downstairs now, or are you going to sleep some more?"

"I'll come down, I guess," he shrugged. "I'm awake enough for now. Besides, breakfast smells delicious." August grinned knowingly, and Gwen blushed a little, after she realised that he was noting the distinct smell of burning bacon.

-

Several days passed in this fashion. Gwen would go to bed very late after a hard day of planning and strategizing, only to sleep restlessly for a few hours and wake, exhausted, early the next morning. Dark circles appeared under her eyes, and she would often fall asleep where she was sitting, usually resting her head against Fai's shoulder. When Fai would see what she had done, he would allow her to rest in his lap. He attempted to take her to bed several times, but she would wake and adamantly refuse, insisting instead that she was fine.

The Sirian people had to be alerted of the plan to invade Sirian, and Gwen and August left around midday to head to the village square. Overall the general attitude of the Seresans was positive. They wanted revenge against the Sirians for slaughtering their friends, family and neighbours, and Gwen's plan to invade Sirian directly was exactly the kind of payback they desired. However, there were a few that were less than happy about going back to their neighbouring country, under the fear that it would mean even more casualties. Gwen could sympathise.

"I understand your concern, as I feel it very strongly myself," she assured, touching the shoulder of one of the women of the village. "Believe me, if there was any other option I would take it. But if we want to show the Sirians who they're dealing with, we're going to have to strike back at them just as hard. It's the only way to show them that Seresu is not to be messed with." The woman hesitated, then nodded.

"I guess you're right," she conceded. "Just take care of everyone, okay?" Gwen nodded seriously.

"I will," she promised. She and August turned to leave, the message having been passed on, but Quinn got to them first.

"Gwen," he said slightly breathlessly, having just sprinted across the square to catch her. Gwen spun to face him, then hugged him tightly.

"You're okay now?" she asked, looking him up and down. "You aren't still hurt from the battle, are you?"

"No, I'm fine," he said. "Mum's been keeping me in bed for the past three days. Strict bed-rest. I thought I'd die of boredom," he complained.

"Well, I'm glad you caught me," Gwen said. "When we go into Sirian, I want you and Beatrix to act as Sirians so that we can blend in more easily."

"Wait, why?" asked Quinn.

"Isn't it obvious?" Gwen rolled her eyes. "Most Seresans have blonde hair." She pulled a lock of her own gold curls. "However, you and Beatrix have dark hair." She pulled the fringe of his straight, dark hair. "And thus, it is necessary to have you two, so that we can make deals or trades for supplies with the Sirians with less of a chance of being found out."

"Couldn't you just use magic to colour your own hair? Not that I won't do it, of course," he said quickly. "I'll be happy to."

"We can't use magic at all while we're there. Seresan magic is very distinctive, and even just the trail left from making my hair dark instead of light could be enough to tip off a Sirian magician. I can't take that chance, not when Seresu is relying on me." She bit her lip and twirled a gold curl nervously. Quinn ruffled her hair to cheer her up.

"Don't worry," he said firmly. "Even if something goes wrong, you have me, and your brother, and the rest of Seresu's men to count on. We'll make sure that this operation runs as smoothly as possible." He grinned reassuringly, and Gwen smiled back.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem, Ginny," Quinn teased. Then he looked to Gwen's right. August had just appeared from talking to someone, and noticed the dark-haired man at the same moment.

"August!" he exclaimed. "I haven't talked to you in forever!" August beamed as Quinn launched at him, and they embraced roughly.

"Ever since our divisions seperated," August clarified. "Did they send you home or something?"

"No, they just sent _you_ farther away," Quinn laughed. "Although, I did get to come home about a year after our split. Thank God, too, since the place I was stationed was more listless than a dead rat. No one commits crimes in the west, I tell you."

They continued to catch up on their war stories while Gwen left, scouting for Beatrix to give her the same mission she'd given Quinn. After a few minutes of searching the redhead was found, and the message was passed on.

"I knew there was a reason I was born with this," Beatrix said, playfully tossing her dark red hair over her shoulder.

**End Chapter 15.**

It ends on a crap note, I know. I'm sorryyyy!


	16. Chapter 16

Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't been updating as often as I used to. It's getting to where I have so much going on during the week for school that I honestly just don't have the time I used to for writing, what with finals and end-of-term finals looming just over the horizon and such. Once school is out for the summer I promise I will devote as much time to finishing this story as possible. If it were my choice I would write all the time, but unfortunately, it doesn't really work that way. Which is crap, in my opinion. But just mark your calendars for 14th June, because that's my last day! Well, okay, you don't have to, but I will...

Am I the only one who cried during the latest Pirates movie? I've seen it twice already and it made me cry both times. Maybe I'm easily moved to tears, but seriously, it was so sad! ;-; I won't say what made me cry specifically in case you guys haven't seen it yet, but there's one thing in particular that sort of reminded me of something that actually happens later in this story. D: It's the best one out of the trilogy, in my opinion.

Eee! **MoonlitInuko**, you've made me happy! Thank you so, so, SO much! I really appreciate it! And I'm sorry about all the kissing and whatnot. xD; I don't really mean to do it. I'm a very physically affectionate person, myself, and it kind of shows through my writing, I guess. I'll try to, uh, nix on it a bit, or keep it down to a minimum...

Anyway, on to the chapter. C: (would anyone want to kill me if I could only update every other week?)

**Chapter 16.**

Another few days of tedious, however necessary, planning needed to occur before the siege could be made upon Sirian. Possible plans of action were documented to the slightest detail, exploring every possible dilemma or snag to ensure that nothing would take them by surprise. Gwen had made it her personal goal not to be caught unawares at any point during their escapade, it seemed. She worked tirelessly to make sure no possibility had been overlooked; however, it was at the expense of her health that she did so. She spent most of her day staring stiffly at maps, charts, or simply into space, her brow furrowed in thought. She barely slept or ate, to the fast-growing chagrin of both Fai and August. Even Kurogane, who spent nearly the whole day training Syaoran for the upcoming battles, noticed Gwen's energy level-- or, rather, lack thereof.

"Gwen," said Fai softly, placing his hand over hers late one night. "Are you okay?" Something about the way his eyebrows met in the middle told Gwen that he meant more than the simple phrase conveyed. August tensed very slightly, listening to the subdued conversation.

"I'm fine." Gwen tried her best, but could not stifle her wide yawn, the force of which made her body tremble. Fai's eyebrows rose, and he stroked her hair out of her eyes.

"You should sleep," he murmured. He made a half-hearted attempt to carry her to bed; as expected, she shook her head firmly, planting her feet on the ground.

"No, no," she said. "I'll be fine for another few hours." Fai looked worried, biting his lip as she sat down and went back to her work, blinking furiously to keep her eyes from closing. Across the room, August looked up from the bowl of soup he was tucking in to, scowling. Sakura looked at him in concern, putting her hand gently on his. He hesitated a moment, then stood, affectionately patting the princess's head before walking quickly into the hall. Gwen caught the dark look on his face as he left. She looked very surprised, and half-stood before she, too, hesitated.

"What's up with him?" she asked. Fai shrugged, Sakura mirroring his gesture.

"M-Maybe you should find out," Sakura suggested. Gwen frowned.

"Things won't get done as quickly," she brooded. Fai rolled his eyes.

"You've done enough," he said roughly, grasping her upper arm tightly and pulling her to her feet. "Go and find out what's bothering him." Gwen looked a bit ruffled at being handled so, but continued up the stairs to the loft.

August was lying on his bed, glaring at the ceiling. The bowl of soup lay discarded on the floor. He didn't turn his head as Gwen came to a shaky stop at the top of the landing; the sleep deprivation was really wearing on her sense of balance.

"What's wrong?" she demanded, rather sharper than she had intended. August looked for a moment as if he were going to respond angrily, but instead stopped himself, taking a deep breath before speaking calmy.

"You need to go to sleep," he said in a low voice. "You're going to kill yourself if you keep going at this rate."

"Is that all?" she said in exhasperation. "You had me thinking that you were dying or something serious like that."

"It is serious!" he said passionately, sitting up and turning to face her, his eyes desperate. "This isn't the end, you know; once the plans and strategies are out of the way we'll be invading! There won't be a time to rest, to catch up on sleep. We need you to be well and whole, so that when we need you you aren't dead on your feet." He crossed the room in three swift strides, clasping her hands tightly in his. His face was open, upset, eager for her to understand. Gwen felt guilt pulling at her, along with the exhaustion of several day's worth of lost sleep, but she pushed both of them aside. She had to be focused on the ultimate goal. There was time for such feelings later.

"I'm sorry I've worried you," she said stiffly, "but I've got to finish the job quickly if we're going to have any chance of doing this. Please understand." She pulled her hands out of his, turned, and walked unsteadily to the landing, grasping the smooth wooden railing for balance.

"You're not doing us any favour if you're working yourself to exhaustion," August murmured. He backed up until his legs hit the bed, which he promptly collapsed upon, putting his face in his hands. "I don't mean to antagonise you, but if that's what it takes to get you to get some damned sleep, then I'll be the bad guy and lock you in your room if you won't go quietly." He glared through his fingers at her.

Gwen suddenly felt extremely wronged. It was her _duty_ to make sure everything was done the highest expectations, to ensure that every detail had been attended to. It was what would ultimately keep her people _safe,_ for god's sake! A little sleep deprivation on her part wasn't the end of the world. Actually, it could be the difference for the lives of her friends. If something went wrong, it would be on her head. Couldn't August _see_ that?

"You don't know what you're talking about," Gwen said icily. "It's my responsibility as ruler of this country to make sure that no lives are lost unnecessarily. A few hours sleep lost on my part could keep someone alive."

"And you're taking your job too seriously!" August rebutted, stung by her tone. "You've done so much for Seresu already, and your actions are both appreciated and honourable. But you're getting to the point where you're torturing yourself for no reason," he said meaningfully. "Please, please understand what I'm trying to tell you."

Gwen couldn't help it. She felt the angry tears spilling from her eyes.

"Why are you so upset?" asked August, aghast.

"Because!" she said loudly. "You're treating me like dirt!"

"I'm _not_ treating you like dirt," he mumbled.

"You're treating me like dirt right now!"

"I'm treating you like an adult!" said August angrily, standing, clenching his fists.

"Well, stop it! I don't like it!" Gwen sobbed, finally wiping her sodden cheeks. August slammed his fist into the wall.

"Dammit, Guenevere!" he growled, his eyes blazing, chest heaving. "Are you honestly so blind that you cannot see how much harm you're causing? If you keep doing this to yourself you will not be alive to leave with Fai at all! You're so convinced that you are omniscient, that you alone comprehend the difficulties of what we are trying to do, that you have closed yourself from believing that I could help you!"

"That's not true, I--"

"Like hell it isn't true!" he shouted. "If you would just listen, for once, you would understand that you are not always right! You've become practically suicidal over this stupid war, can't you see it? You're too willing to believe that you will never die, that you are invincible, but this is not the case!" August felt himself growing slightly hysterical; he grasped Gwen's shoulders, desperate to make her understand. "Don't you see how wrong you are? You are not unbreakable; you are fragile! You could break so easily, and seeing you throw yourself so recklessly into these perilous situations is terrifying!"

"No," whispered Gwen, trembling. "I'm not fragile. You are just determined to think that you alone know what's best for me." She glared at her brother, the expression on his face varying between shock and hurt. "I am not a little girl anymore, August, and I can take care of myself. I don't need you." She wrenched her eyes away from his, pulling herself away from his grasp. He made a slight choking noise, then laughed weakly.

"You can't mean that, Ginny," he said, his voice breaking. "You... You can't." He tried to smile, reaching out to her again.

"I do," she said coldly. She turned her back to him, walking down the spiral staircase. "I've done fine by myself, and I don't need you anymore." The top of her blonde head was the last thing August saw before his knees were too weak to support him any longer, and he fell to the ground. He sat, stunned, and then fell onto his back, staring at the ceiling.

Was it true? Could Gwen honestly not need him anymore? After twenty years, could she have had enough? August didn't see how he could ever not need his sister any longer, but maybe Gwen was different. Maybe she hadn't loved him quite as much as he'd loved her.

_I'm nothing but a weight around her neck_, he thought miserably. _I've been holding her back all these years. She's just never told me the truth. _He moaned. _Of course I've held her back._ August felt himself falling into an endless depth of despair, putting his hands over his face, blocking out the wooden beams of the ceiling above him. Something mean and hungry was gnawing at his stomach, making him feel slightly sick. August dragged himself into the four-poster bed, pulling the blankets above his head, trying not to think as he lost himself in his guilt.

**End Chapter 16.**

You'll find out why Gwen freaked during the next chapter... She's actually got a rather valid reason.

And please, just as a reminder... If you've read the chapter, leave even just a little comment saying you've read it! I get a little disheartened when no one reviews. D: I mean, I don't expect a paragraph of text; just a little thing saying you loved it/hated it/wanted to vomit at its horrifying mental images is greatly appreciated. It's what keeps me writing! (but thank you for all that you've done in reviewing so far-- you guys are amazing!)


	17. Chapter 17

Aughh! I'm so sorry! I'm almost afraid to update! -hides under a rock- I can't believe I haven't updated in three weeks! More than that! On the human being scale I am a negitive score!

Anyway. Feel free to kill me, but moving on. **RosesEnfer **is so cool. D: Wow. You have no idea how much that little comment meant to me, especially since I would like to be a writer when I'm older. Thank you so much! So so much! Eee!

I AM NOW OUT OF SCHOOL! Yay! You know what that means, folks: hours of time every day with which to make use of. And I plan on writing a lot in my free time so that I can get back to updating more frequently! However, I've also got another writing gig this summer that I'm actually getting paid for, so I'll have to balance my two duties... But don't fret, my dears. I'm going to develop carpal tunnel with all my typing. xD

You've waited long enough! On to the chapter!

**Chapter 17.**

Gwen left, looking slightly reproachfully behind her at Fai. He was sorry he'd had to be forceful, but she was being ridiculous. Fai flopped on to the divan with a sigh. Perhaps August could enlighten Gwen on the subject of her stubbornness. He doubted she would listen to anyone else.

Sakura looked a little lost without August next to her on the chaise, and retreated to the kitchen to fix dinner for herself. Kurogane and Syaoran chose that moment to push open the front door, returning from the younger's training for the day. As Sakura came from the kitchen with a platter of food, her eyes widened and a gleaming smile spread across her face.

"Welcome back!" she said, rather glad to have a distraction from the awkward moment with Gwen and August. "Are you hurt at all? Should I bring you some food?" Syaoran smiled gratefully; his stomach chose that opportunity to growl loudly.

"I'm okay…" he said hesitantly, "But… a little hungry, perhaps."

"Kuro-pon!" scolded Fai teasingly. "Have you been starving the poor boy?" Sakura blushed. Kurogane told the magician to shut up.

"He's got a scrape on his hand," said the ninja gruffly to the princess. "It may need bandaging, so watch out for it." It was Syaoran's turn to blush as Sakura turned an accusatory eye on him, taking his hand in hers to survey the damage. She sighed.

"Come with me," she said softly. "I'll make you some food and fix your hand." Syaoran nodded, watching her face as her fingers unconsciously traced the lines of his palm.

"What was that?" asked Syaoran, startled, as a loud thump resonated through the house. The source was the loft. Fai was about to answer that he didn't know when raised voices followed after. A ripple of shock flowed through the group as they realised as one that the angry, shouting voice belonged to August. Between his words were the unmistakable hiccups of Gwen's sobs.

"What the hell?" said Kurogane, nonplussed. Syaoran's mouth was hanging open, and Sakura had paled slightly. Fai opened his mouth to say something, realised he couldn't, and shut it again, gulping. He'd known August would probably scold her, but this was a bit unnecessary.

Before anything more could be said, the shouting stopped. It was completely silent in the living room, which allowed the soft conversation to carry.

"... Can't mean that, Ginny," came August's voice, suddenly sounding like a man clinging to the last bit of sanity in his life. "You can't." Whether or not Gwen replied was not known, but steps were heard on the staricase-- to soft to be August's; they could only belong to his sister. Without a word, Fai walked into the hallway to meet her, eager for some kind of explanation.

"Gwen!" said Fai, surprised as Gwen came down the stairs. His surprise quickly turned to alarm as he saw her face; ashen, deathly pale, with tear streaks dripping all the way to her chin. Her features were curiously devoid of emotion as she brushed past him, opening the door to her room and closing it softly behind her. Without a thought, she walked into her bathroom, undressed, and stepped into the shower, turning it on. The hot water pounded against the back of her neck as she stood stock-still. Shuddering, she turned the tap to an even hotter temperature, crouching to the ground and hugging her knees. Some detached part of her brain, the logical part, told her that she was losing it, and that she was being stupid, but the emotional part of her found it didn't really care.

-

"What are we going to do?" asked Kurogane in an undertone, staring at Gwen's door with a rather bewildered expression on his face. He turned to glance at the magician next to him, and was surprised at the frown of understanding on the man's face.

"I think I've just understood something," he moaned. "And if I'm right, which, knowing Gwen, I probably am, then she is the biggest idiot I've ever met in my entire life."

"Harsh," said Kuro fairly. Fai chuckled weakly.

"Perhaps," he conceded. "We should get the kids to bed. This could get nasty, and I'd like as few casualties as possible. I'm not sure how she's doing, but Gwen tends to get a little crazy when she's this upset..." He nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking back and forth between the door in front of him and the stairs beside him.

"I'll get them to bed," the ninja offered. "You go talk to her brother. I'll see how she's doing after the kid and the princess are in their room." Fai nodded.

"Okay," he said. "Thanks." Fai flitted up the stairs, leaving Kurogane to frown at Gwen's door for another moment before heading into the living room.

-

August was so lost into his own thoughts that he didn't hear soft feet climbing the stairs, or the rustle of cloth as someone sat on the bed next to him. He did, however, feel the duvet being pulled back, and then the cool hand on his forehead.

"August," murmured Fai firmly, brushing golden curls off of the older man's brow. August didn't say anything, but put his hands over his face.

"She hates me," he whispered. "She doesn't need me anymore."

"If you really believe that then you're a bigger idiot than she is," said Fai harshly. August looked up, surprised. Fai was glaring at him, but there was kindness behind his eyes. Fai softened.

"She loves you. Probably more than anyone."

"No, she doesn't. I only hold her back."

"Would you shut up and listen?" Fai said passionately. "She wants you to think that way. I don't pretend to speak for her, but if anything, I would imagine that it's because by hurting you now, she thinks she's hurting you less in the long run. She's going about this in all the wrong ways, and she's being incredibly stupid, but it's all because she honestly does want what's best for you! Your death to her would be as terrible as her death to you."

"But," said August weakly, head in his arms again, "she said she isn't a child anymore, and that she can take care of herself."

"And she's right," Fai agreed. "She is not a child. And she is more than capable than taking care of herself. However, and as much as I love her, she has deluded herself into believing that by doing this to you, when she leaves it will hurt you less."

"How can she think that?"

"I don't know," said Fai. "But what you need to do is to tell her that no matter how old she gets, or how independent she becomes, or no matter how much she hurts you, your feelings won't change. They won't, will they?"

"Of course not." August sniffed, sitting up and wiping his eyes with the heel of his palm. Fai smiled swiftly.

"Of course, she already knows this; she just needs a reminder. She's probably downstairs in her room crying her eyes out for having done this to you. Although," he added quickly, "You should probably wait until she's calmed down a bit before telling her off."

"Telling her off?" said August, wide-eyed. Fai frowned.

"She needs a good telling-off," he said. "Bless her, she's a wonderful girl, but she's dreadfully pig-headed sometimes." August laughed weakly.

"I know what you mean." August rubbed his red eyes more forcefully. "I hope I didn't scare anyone when I yelled," he said, apologetic.

"You made Syaoran nearly jump out of his skin," Fai said cheerfully, eager to keep August in his current mood, and away from his self-blaming attitude. "What was that thump?" August flushed.

"I punched the wall," he said sheepishly. Fai's eyes widened.

"She made you that angry?"

"No," August corrected. "I made myself angry. Well, okay, she was being dumb, but mostly..." August sighed. "I get so frustrated with myself because I feel like maybe she does know what's going to work for her, and when I try to interfere and show her what she's doing, she thinks I'm being unfair. I feel like I'm forcing my opinion on her sometimes. I like to think that I know what's best, and that she needs me to show her her options." August chuckled, then sighed. "Makes me sound awful, doesn't it?"

"Is that what you were fighting about?"

"Not exactly. It started out that we were just arguing about the fact that she hasn't slept more than a few hours in the last three days, but it progressed to be an argument more about... Well," August mumbled, "Probably more about me not being able to let her go than anything." Fai looked at his hands, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Do you want her to stay?" he whispered. August frowned.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I haven't been kind to either of you. If you want her to stay, please, tell me. I won't bring her with me if--"

"She's going," said August firmly. "If anything, I'm putting my foot down on her staying here. I'm not going to hold her here if she wants to stay with you. And she does, I can see it in her eyes whenever she looks at you."

"Maybe she needs to be told that." August looked at his own hands.

"Probably," he agreed. "But if I'm going to tell her, I need some time to think of how I'm going to present it."

"Yes," said Fai, standing. "I'm going to see how Gwen is. You should go down and talk to her when you're ready." August nodded as Fai walked down the staircase.

-

"What's wrong with Gwen-chan?" asked Sakura timidly as Kurogane walked back in to the living room. He sighed in irritation, putting a hand to his forehead.

"Nothing, I think. She's tired, her brother's tired, this whole thing is ridiculous. But the mage says it's best if you two go to bed," he explained. "He says she gets weird when she's upset." Syaoran hesitated, biting his lip.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" he asked, concerned. Kurogane grinned, but it was tainted with exhaustion.

"Maybe tomorrow you could make breakfast," he offered. "I have a feeling this could be a long night." Syaoran looked a little consoled, and nodded.

"Goodnight, Kurogane-san," said the boy, gently placing his hand on his princess's shoulder and walking toward the hall. Sakura followed, but stopped in front of Kurogane. Hesitating a moment, she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"Give that to Gwen-chan, okay?" she said, staring up at him wide-eyed. Kurogane nodded, trying to quell the slight feeling of embarassment showing itself in his cheeks.

"I will," he promised. "You two should get some rest. I have a feeling this will be one of the last chances we'll have to stock up on sleep, so make it count."

"Yes," said Syaoran.

"Goodnight, Kurogane-san," said Sakura softly as the two of them walked to their room.

-

Gwen wasn't entirely sure how long she'd been in the shower when she felt the water suddenly stop. A towel was wrapped around her and a strong pair of arms lifted her up, holding her to a muscled chest. Gwen was pretty sure she knew who was holding her, and tried to get away, but to no avail. She was too exhausted, too upset, and his arms were warm and steadfast.

The man carrying her deposited her onto her bed, pulling her covers up to her chin.

"You passed out in the damn shower. You're an idiot." Gwen felt the tears leaking out of her closed eyes again, and reached one hand out to the man next to her. It was clasped by a strong, calloused hand in turn.

"I'm sorry, August," she murmured. She sniffed, then nuzzled his palm against her cheek. "It has to be this way." Her brother sighed.

"You're an idiot," he said again. He sounded irritated. Maybe Gwen's ears were a bit garbled from the hot water, but that voice was a bit different from the one she knew so well. She supposed it was due to her exhaustion.

"Go to sleep," murmured August, pulling his hand back. He brushed her damp hair away from her face.

Sleeping sounded very nice. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, sleeping for a little while. August would understand...

-

Kurogane, leaving Gwen's room, found Fai coming down the stairs from the loft. From the look on the blonde man's face, he'd just been up with August, probably attempting to comfort him.

"How's Gwen doing?" asked Fai tensely, frowning. Kurogane shrugged, looking over his shoulder at Gwen's door.

"She'll live. She passed out in the shower, because she's an idiot, so I took her back to bed. She's sleeping now." Fai sighed.

"Any idea why they were fighting?" asked the ninja after a long moment. "It's unlike them to ever raise their voices to each other."

"I don't know Gwen's side of the story, really," said Fai hesitantly, "But I'm guessing... She must be feeling the pressure from what she's doing, such as leaving with us, trying to defeat the Sirians, and wanting to simultaneously stay with August, and make sure he's okay. She's never been very good at handling stress, unfortunately, and maybe it went to her head a bit. And when August tried to get her to see reason, she lashed out at him. And now he's upset, she's upset, and they're both dumb: August for believing her, and Ginny for not accepting that he only wants to help."

"But can't she understand that whether or not she leaves, he only wants what's best for her?" growled Kurogane in annoyance.

"Oh, I think she understands August's sincerity very well. She understands what's happening around her better than I believe we give her credit. That's her problem, though; August is extremely accepting and encouraging of her choices, moreso than she is herself, and so she wants him to disagree with her _somewhere... _Probably so that she can have a good reason for leaving him."

"Do you want to her to come with us?" Kurogane asked quietly.

"Certainly I do," said Fai hesitantly, "Because I don't know if I would ever see her again if she didn't come with us." He sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "But that's the problem. If she stays, she may never see me again. But if she leaves, she may never see her brother again." Fai walked into the sitting room and collapsed on the chaise. "Thinking about it, I can see why she's behaving the way she is... I've forced a difficult choice upon her." Kurogane couldn't answer. Fai was right, although it seemed unfair to admit it. Neither of the men said anything for several long moments; Kurogane sighed.

"Is he going to talk to her?" he asked gruffly. Fai nodded.

"He needs time to collect himself first."

"Is he okay?"

"She didn't hurt him too badly, as far as long-term effects go, I think... Though she may have him second-guessing his every action with her from now on." Fai fidgeted, the corners of his mouth turning downward as his eyebrows turned upward. "I hope she didn't permanently put a damper in their relationship."

"By the sound of it, that's probably what she was going for," Kurogane mumbled. Fai groaned. Why did she have to be like this?

"You're probably right." There was another long stretch of silence as the two men brooded. Kurogane was the one to break it.

"Her brother is the only one she'll listen to right now, so there's nothing we can do. We should get some sleep." Fai nodded.

"Yeah."

**End Chapter 17.**

I... _think _that was a long chapter. I hope so. It seems longer, at any rate...

I tried to squeeze more Tsubasa characters in this chapter because I feel like August and Gwen have completely stolen the spotlight. D: I don't mean for them too, but it just happens. They're drama queens. Hopefully there will be ONE MORE CHAPTER and then they will be in Sirian. Yay! This will be exciting! (I hope...)


	18. Chapter 18

Okay. So. I know I'm officially terrible because once again there was a long delay between chapters. I meant to update a week ago, since I was leaving for the beach, but I ended up having to leave one day earlier than I had expected... Hence no update. Ehe.

But. I have an update now. And it's long! I think. Yep. I like the beginning because... Well, it's something I've had in my head forever that I've wanted to work into the story somehow. And here it fit. So hahaha. Authoress wins.

**Chapter 18.**

The first thing August remembered was Gwen's soft scream, waking him. This unnerved him a bit, as he hadn't remembered falling asleep.

"August!" she said, her voice a terrified whisper. "August, August, August..." She continued to call his name, and he felt her fall to her knees beside him. He heard her take a shuddering breath, then felt warm, trembling fingers at his throat beneath his jaw, tilting his head back. Feeling for a pulse, he mused through the haze in his brain. Well, if her hands kept shaking like that, she wasn't going to be able to feel anything. He realised, under the fog, that this would most likely cause her to panic, which wasn't good. He tried to open his eyes, to move, to do anything that would assure her that he was alive, but he found that his body wouldn't obey him.

Gwen took another shuddering gasp, and this time August could hear the sob underneath. No, Ginny shouldn't be sobbing, he thought. I'm okay. She needs to see I'm okay.

The fingers left his throat; August panicked, did she think he was dead? But he relaxed a bit when he felt her rest her head against his chest. She couldn't feel for a heartbeat, so she was going to listen for one. August tried to breathe deeply, anything for an extra show of life, but his bruised, broken body wasn't letting him. He would have chuckled, if he'd had the ability to do so. Well, at least the endorphins are doing their job, he thought dully. Not only could he barely feel anything, he seemed to be more in the mood to simply lie on the ground and giggle weakly to himself than to do anything else. But he seemed physically incapable of laughter at the moment. Of all the times to have broken ribs...

Suddenly Gwen laughed. It wasn't her normal laugh. It was hysterical, it was relieved, it was choked with tears.

"August," she whispered. "Can you hear me?"

He tried to do something, anything, to show that he could, but it was futile. Gwen didn't say anything more. Her hands fluttered over him, caressing his cold face, squeezing one of his hands, straightening his torn shirt. She shook with silent sobs all the while.

Then August felt a burning pressure in his leg. He moaned feebly, trying to make the pain stop. Why weren't the endorphins working anymore? But it only grew stronger and stronger. He began to pant. It hurt terribly, why was this happening?

Then he broke through the fog. He gasped, then cried out; the pain doubled.

"August!" said Gwen, making the strange laughing sound again.The pain in his leg dulled to a pulsing throb and Gwen's hands cupped his face again. They were wet.

"What--" August choked out, opening his eyes finally and staring at his sister's tear-streaked face. His vision had gone funny. She seemed to be swimming in front of him. He couldn't make her stay in one spot. He blinked furiously several times; it must have helped, because she came into clearer focus. He took a deep breath, trying to ignore the spasms of sharp pain from his broken ribs.

"Whoever did this to you really messed you up," she said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Oh, August realised. That's why her hands were wet. They were covered with his blood. August hesitated a moment, then looked down at his leg.

His first thought was that Gwen was right. Messed up was a good word for it. His leg had been sliced open in the fight, making a jagged, gaping wound across his thigh. It bled freely onto the trampled, snowy ground beneath him. Again, he had to fight the impulse to laugh, though he didn't know why. He inspected the rest of his body; his knuckles were bloodied, there were fresh bruises on his torso, his shoulder felt dislocated, and he suspected that his left arm may have been fractured.

"What happened?" asked Gwen, who seemed to be calming down now that August was conscious. Her bloodied hands were impulsively smoothing his hair, straightening his shirt. "I knew where you were going to be and so I went there looking for you, but when I got there Gedric said you'd already left, and so I was on my way home and then I saw you here and..." Gwen was overcome by tears again, sobbing as August struggled against the warm, inviting darkness and the rest it promised that was tempting him.

"I'll be happy to tell you, Ginny," August whispered, wincing at the pain and fighting the urge to black out again, "But I think I'm going to bleed to death within the next two minutes if we don't do something to stop me from bleeding now." A wave of nausea rolled over him, and he willed himself not to throw up.

"Y-Yes," Gwen murmured, "You're right." She placed trembling hands over the gaping wound in his thigh.

"This is going to hurt," she whispered fearfully. "Probably a lot. I've only just been taught how this works. I've never done this before, I might not get it right."

"I have faith in you," August assured her, smiling weakly. As a precaution, he bundled a roll of his torn cloak, biting down on it. He nodded once, and Gwen nodded in response. Then the pain started.

It started out a merely an uncomfortable burn. But it grew into spikes of sharp pain, growing more frequent and more mind-numbing with every passing second. August bit hard into the cloth of his cloak, screwing up his face and clenching his hands into the frozen ground, but he couldn't stop the moan of pain from escaping him. Under the torture he thought he could feel skin knitting together, muscle reattaching, bone rebuilding itself.

Finally, when he thought that he couldn't take any more, the pain stopped. August took great, gulping breaths of air, which surprised him a bit. Had she healed his ribs, too? But Gwen began to sob.

"I didn't do it right," she hiccuped. "I messed up." August sat up gingerly; his head spun, but he fought the dizziness, determined to see his leg. But there wasn't anything wrong that he could see. Instead of a sawed open leg, there was a whole one. There was a thick scar across his thigh, but other than that, he seemed fine again.

"What's wrong?" he asked weakly, feeling his leg with tender fingers. It didn't hurt anymore, except the skin was rather raw.

"There isn't supposed to be a scar!" she said. "I didn't do it right."

"Good enough for me," mumbled August, falling backward onto the snow again. He was exhausted.

"August," said Gwen quickly, holding his face in her hands again. "Stay with me. Who did this to you?" August shook his head quickly, trying to wake himself up.

"Sorry," he said. "Um..." He struggled to remember the faces of the men who'd attacked him. "Some guys from the Guard. I think they said something about me being as young as I am but being so far up the ranks..."

"They almost killed you because they were jealous?" Gwen interrupted angrily.

"I suppose you could say that," he answered. "But we had to stay late today, and I stayed later to get everything put away and accounted for, then left. And a group of four, five men followed me, I guess, then cornered me in here." He gestured to the alleyway they were in.

"How old were they, do you think?" Gwen asked, stroking August's hand.

"Early twenties, I'd hazard a guess."

"It took five men in their twenties to beat up a seventeen-year-old?" she said in disbelief.

"That's what it sounds like," August said simply. "But they took turns holding me and letting the others beat me up. I thought they were done, but then one pulled out a knife, and..." He swallowed uncomfortably. "After that, they left me here. Probably to die."

"Please don't die," Gwen whispered. "I can't live in a world where you don't exist. I'd go mad." August smiled, squeezing his sister's hand. Another wave of dizziness rolled over him.

"I think I'm going to pass out," he warned. He thought he felt Gwen's hand go to his forehead, and he thought he heard her saying something to him, but the warm darkness had already sucked him under.

-

Gwen heard a soft knock at her door, waking her. She sat up slowly, clutching her comforter around her, blinking sleep from her eyes.

"Come in," she called feebly. There was a moment's hesitation, then the door opened. August walked into the room, then shut the door quietly behind him. Gwen turned pink, then pulled her covers over her head. She felt the bed dip under August's weight next to her.

"Can I talk to you?" August murmured. Gwen shrugged, gnawing on her lip, looking away from her brother even though he couldn't see her face. August sighed.

"Fai told me to tell you off," he said, "But I think the one most deserving of a telling-off right now is myself." Gwen felt rather upset and uncomfortable by this remark; she lifted her head from the blankets to say something, still avoiding August's eyes, but he continued before she could interrupt. "I haven't been very considerate of your feelings lately. I should have realised that you wouldn't have been acting the way you were unless you had a valid reason, and I'm sorry. I had no right to yell at you, or to say the things I did."

"You only said them because you want what's best for me," said Gwen in a low voice, now glaring at the ceiling. "This whole fiasco was my fault, and you shouldn't be blaming yourself for my selfishness." She concentrated on breathing in and out evenly, pursing her lips to keep from crying. August sighed again, then pulled Gwen's face so that it was facing his own. She continued to avert her eyes, staring determinedly to her right.

"You told me once that you couldn't live without me." August's voice was serious. "Either you were lying then, or you're lying now. Please, you have to tell me if you've moved on, so I can let you get on with your life."

For a moment Gwen was devastated, then she was angry. "What do you think?" she said blisteringly. August's expression didn't change, as if he'd been expecting this. "That night, after you passed out, Gedric and I carried you home, and I stayed up the whole night watching you sleep." August looked confused for a moment, as if he wasn't sure where this was going, but let her continue. Gwen swallowed forcefully, trying to stop the tears from leaking from her eyes. "You told _me_ that you hoped I never had to experience of feeling that I was going to have to see you die in front of me? Well, that's how I felt that entire night watching you sleep. I was afraid you'd never wake up. I was afraid I wasn't enough to save you." She wiped her eyes with the heel of her palm. It was August's turn to look away; he studied his folded hands with a slight frown. "Please don't suggest that I don't care for you, regardless of what I may say, because I always have and I always will. I was stupid for trying to make you believe that I didn't love you anymore, but you're stupid for believing me so readily. How many times have I told you I love you? And you believe me the one time I say I don't?" August's eyes closed, but the frown stayed in place.

Gwen hiccuped while she wiped her eyes again; her anger having abated, she felt awful for being so terrible to the person who loved her so unconditionally, but also irritated with him for having such faith in everything she'd said, and for being so self-sacrificing for her sake. Couldn't August-- sweet, gentle, kind, trusting August-- couldn't he see that Gwen was a selfish, stubborn, pseudo-omniscient bigot who wanted to leave him less hurt by hurting him now than hurting him later?

"I'm sorry," said August. His voice was very soft. Gwen expected him to say something else, August being naturally loquacious, but he didn't. There was a long silence.

"Is that all?" Gwen squeaked. "You're sorry, that's it?" August continued looking at his hands.

"What more do you want me to say?" he said.

"I don't know, anything!" she said desperately. "Tell me never to do this to you again! Tell me I'm an idiot! Tell me that you won't forgive me so that I'll be taught a lesson!" August chuckled humourlessly.

"I would, but it would be lying." He sighed, again, and finally turned to look at his sister. "You only did it because you wanted me to be happier in the long run, so I can't tell you not to do it again. You're not an idiot, so I can't tell you that you are one. And I can't tell you that I won't forgive you, because even if you made me angrier than I've ever been in my whole life, I'd still forgive you. So there's nothing I can say." August held Gwen's gaze somberly, then put his hand on hers. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so formal. It's just, after the things you said, it made me think that... Maybe I _do _smother you. Maybe you _don't_ need me in your life the way I need you in mine. And it's given me a lot to think about."

"But I _do_," insisted Gwen weakly. "I need you. I love you. Please take my word on this. Don't listen to anything I said earlier; I was delirious, I didn't know what I was saying. I'm sorry. I was dumb. Please believe me." August's brow furrowed.

"So you do love me? You do need me?"

"Yes!" said Gwen in exhasperation.

"... Oh." He exhaled slowly, then smiled slightly. "We're a mess, aren't we?" he murmured. Gwen chuckled.

"That's a bit of an understatement."

"By the way, I've been wondering." August cleared his throat. "Are you wearing anything besides that towell?" Gwen turned pink again.

"Eh, um... No. Wait!" she said suddenly. "Wasn't it you who... Oh." She blushed more darkly, realising that it wasn't her brother who had saved her from the hot water earlier. "No. Just this." She was mentally kicking herself for having been so stupid. How on earth could that have been August? August, meanwhile, looked confused.

"Should I bring you some clothes?" he offered. Gwen nodded.

"That would be lovely, thank you." August fetched her pajamas from her closet, then turned around respectively while she dressed, then threw her towell on the floor.

Once Gwen was clothed, August turned around and sat with his legs folded on her bed, facing her. Gwen did the same, sitting so that their knees touched.

"So what do we do?" said Gwen softly, twining her hands in her lap. August smiled sheepishly again.

"I think I need to hug you, first." Gwen eagerly complied, wrapping her arms around her brother while his arms tightened around her chest. He kissed her cheek, smoothing her hair out of her face, then smiled. "Okay. Now. I'm thinking we should spend tomorrow resting up and preparing for Sirian. We can go down to the village, make sure supplies and whatnot are ready, make sure people are ready to go-- and, if everything is ready, which I'm sure it is, we can leave day after."

"That soon?" asked Gwen, her head resting against August's shoulder.

"The sooner we leave, the sooner this nightmare will be over with," he said firmly. Gwen gnawed her lip for a moment, then sighed.

"Yes, you're right." She sat up, nodding once. "Then we leave in two days."

**End Chapter 18.**

I'm really hungry. So I'm going to get some food. Some delicious food. Yes.

Sirian up next! Yay! Remember, comments keep me going!


	19. Chapter 19

Oh my God, you guys. I am seriously the worst person ever, I know. D: Augh! If it's any consolation, I've felt horrible since I haven't updated... That's what made me seriously decide that I needed to finish this chapter or it was going to kill me. It's been gnawing away at me for a long time. If you'll believe it, I was held up forever at this one bit that I had no idea how to continue. It's really pathetic, I know. Thankfully I managed to get past that, and was able to get this thing DONE.

Hopefully you guys haven't completely forgotten what's going on... If this were someone else's fic I was reading, though, I'm pretty sure I would have by now.

Again, I cannot stress how sorry I am that this has taken forever.

**Chapter 19.**

The preparations for Sirian took a surprisingly short amount of time. As August had predicted, Seresu was quite ready for their invasion; supplies had been tallied, packed, and accounted for; those who were leaving had said goodbye to their families and were packed as well. Syaoran, Kurogane, and Fai had been readying the men who had been chosen to be in the small band of warriors for the invasion. August and Quinn, who was very shy around his best friend's new companions, had gone together into town to check on how the townsfolk were coming. Quinn was painfully shy around anyone he didn't know very well, a fact which amused August, who Quinn was completely unrestrained around. Sakura and Gwen stayed at home, packing clothes and supplies for the boys.

It had been decided that Sakura would stay behind. She was more than willing to go with them, but she was aware of both her gender and physical strength (or rather, lack thereof), and wisely made the decision to stay behind. Syaoran, meanwhile, was torn between staying with the girl he loved and staying with his teacher, who would of course be in the attack. Sakura, however, told him firmly that if he stayed with her there would be nothing for him to do except wish he were fighting. Syaoran agreed, sounding strangely grateful to her. Gwen, who'd been the only person watching this small exchange, looked away when Sakura clasped Syaoran's hand, staring hard into his eyes. She told him to please be careful. He said he would be. They didn't say anything after that, though their hands remained tightly interwoven.

It was decided also that, for the sake of blending in, the small army would travel in even smaller groups, meeting when necessary to exchange information. Their main goal would be to reach the Central City, where the king lived. From there their plan could take shape.

Beatrix and Quinn would, of course, have lead roles in the expedition. Their dark hair, a genetic oddity in Seresu which consisted of almost entirely blonde-haired residents, had earned them their fair share of often quite hurtful teasing as children. The condition was so rare that it was surprising when two children were born with it affecting them so close in age. And while Quinn was three years Beatrix's senior, the two had bonded over their shared hardships. Later Quinn and August had become friends, and through Quinn, Beatrix and Gwen also met, likewise becoming quick companions. As adults the general population was kinder to them, realising in their new-found maturity that the two could not help what they looked like-- however, there would always be the occassional snide remark, usually questioning their heritage, wondering cruelly out loud if they weren't actually Sirian. Remarks like these always tended to make August very angry. He'd been known on more than one occassion to have to be held back by Quinn, and once even by Gedric as well, lest he pummel the living daylights out of the offender. No one dared make such remarks about Beatrix while she was around Gwen because of Gwen's near royal status, a fact she took advantage of; she was, after all, as protective of her best friend as August was of his. They'd grown up seeing the results of cruel ignorance to those who were different, since their own father, Nikolas, had had dark hair as well. Now, Quinn and Beatrix appreciated the irony of having to pose as the race of people they'd been so plagued by for so many years. Gwen felt bad about having to ask them to do this, but they told her that it was no problem. They only wanted to help.

And finally the final night in Seresu arrived. Gwen decided that, since it was her last time to be able to relax for who knew how long, she would go on a walk. August had left on one just a while before, and she was hoping to run into him at some point. Fai had offered to go with her, but Gwen had declined. She needed some time to clear her head. She would be sure to make it up to him that night.

She made a lap of the village in a time that seemed much too short in relevance to its size, and stopped once in the cafe that Quinn sometimes worked in for tea. Quinn wasn't there; it wasn't a serious job of his, since he and August both worked for the Royale Guard doing whatever jobs the Guard needed doing. Quinn's mother owned the cafe, and he mostly helped out there when they were short an employee and he had free time. Since he and everyone else were going to Sirian tomorrow, leaving early in the morning, he was hopefully in bed, sleeping. However, knowing what she knew of him, and since she'd known him since he was twelve she knew quite a lot about him, he was most likely out drinking with Gedric or something stupid like that. Ah, well. At least he'd regret it in the morning.

Once Gwen had decided she'd wasted enough time staring vacantly out of the window she paid for her tea and stepped outside. The sun had set while she'd been daudling, and snow was falling slightly, swirling gently in the bitter breeze. She stomped her feet and rubbed her arms vigourously. The temperature inside was toasty and warm, and outside, since the sun had set, it was bitingly, numbingly cold. It was always like this in Seresu around this time of year, of course, but the fact didn't make it any more tolerable. Frowning, Gwen decided it was time to go home. She hadn't run into August, so assumed he was probably either curled up in bed already, or else having a cup of coffee in front of the fire. He was kind of weird in that respect: his favourite time of day for his favourite drink was right before bed. Her brother's peculiarities often amused those not used to them.

She was on the final road home when she saw them.

August and Beatrix were standing together in front of Beatrix's house. It looked as though they were holding hands. August was murmuring something; Beatrix smiled shyly, tentatively, then stood on her toes and placed a hesitant kiss gently on his lips. She pulled her hands out of his after a moment of looking into his eyes, then turned to open the door to her house, closing it softly after another red-faced smile.

Gwen had never seen her brother with the expression he currently wore. It spoke of such tender, all-consuming affection that it almost felt indecent to intrude on such a private moment. After what seemed like an eternity in which August stared at her door, he chuckled softly, running his fingers through blonde curls. He turned and, humming softly to himself, put his hands in his pockets and headed home.

Gwen remained where she was, crouched in the alleyway between two shops for a minute to make sure August wasn't going to see her, and then followed his path with slow, ponderous steps.

She had to admit it.

They made an adorable couple.

It didn't surprise her that he brother and her best friend had been canoodling-- she'd suspected it in the back of her mind, she realised, since the two had sat next to each other that one night at dinner. August had certainly shown interest in her then. Gwen wondered when they had begun dating, if that was indeed what they were doing. Maybe when August and Quinn had gone out together to the village he'd seen her. Quinn wouldn't have stopped him. However, she kind of wondered why he hadn't told her. Or rather, why Beatrix hadn't told her. Maybe it was the fact that they were her best friend and her brother... Yes, that must be it. Maybe they thought she wouldn't approve? Probably. She didn't care, though. If they liked each other, who was she to stand in their way, especially since she would be leaving in such a short time anyway... Maybe they would need each other for companionship after she'd gone. The thought made her grin. They would miss her so much that they'd have to be with each other all the time, and then they'd get married, and when she came back there would be a bunch of little Augusts running around. Okay, imagination stops there. The thought of a bunch of little Augusts was kind of weird. And besides, hopefully she wouldn't be gone quite _that_ long... She'd definitely have come back to visit by that time...

And finally she was home. She pushed the door open, shutting it quickly behind her and kicking off her snow-crusted boots, hanging her cloak on the coat-hook. Fai was lounging lazily on the divan, his long legs draped over the edge. He was reading. He looked up when she came in and grinned in contentment.

"Good, you're back. August just got back a minute ago, too. You two must have just missed each other." He marked his place and set the volume on the floor, stretching and yawning widely before standing fluidly and crossing the room to wrap his arms around her. She yawned in response and rested her head against his shoulder while he rubbed her arms to warm her up.

"You're frozen," he remarked. "Do you want me to get you something to drink?" Gwen had already had tea at the cafe, but whatever.

"Sure," she said. "I'll help you, though." The two walked into the kitchen holding hands; Fai filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove, lighting the flame underneath with a flick of his hand. Then he wrapped his arms around Gwen again, leaning against the counter for support. Her eyes closed, resting her cheek on his shoulder. Fai's hand gently stroked through snow-dampened hair. He gently kissed her throat. His hands continued to roam over her, searching for the icy patches of exposed skin and chaffing them with his palms until they warmed. Gwen sighed.

"Did you know about August and Beatrix?" she asked. Fai's hands hesitated on the small of her back.

"Are they together?" he murmured between kisses on her collarbone.

"I guess so."

"Well, it doesn't surprise me... I think I may have even suspected it."

"Same here." Fai's warm fingers skimmed over her jaw.

"Does that bother you?" he asked lightly. She snorted, which must have caught him off-guard, because he jumped very slightly.

"Of course not. If they like each other, who am I to say I don't like it? For instance, if August said that he didn't want me and you together, I would tell him right where he could put that request, and then run right back to you. I expect he would do the same." She smiled, then kissed him. He responded enthusiastically. Several minutes later they broke apart.

"Someone's awfully eager tonight," Gwen murmured a little breathlessly. "Not that I mind, of course." Fai shrugged, his eyes closed, smiling as his hands rubbed her back.

"We've been so busy lately, and we're going to be so busy in the future, that I figured we should make use of the last night we'll have to ourselves for a while." They were silent for a moment, then they both jumped when the kettle whistled. Fai grudgingly disentangled himself after another quick kiss and set about making a pot of tea, humming slightly. Gwen yawned. What time was it? It felt so late. Maybe they should go to bed after the tea.

"I've been thinking," Fai said suddenly. His back was still to her. "You know Sakura is staying behind... You also know that Sirian is not exceedingly close to Seresu. What you might not know is that Mokona, who of course is translating everything everyone says so that we can understand each other, has a distance limit for that power. So, if we go too deep into Sirian-- which I'm sure we will-- we might have a slight problem."

"Crap," Gwen said in an exhale. "You're right."

"Thankfully, though, Kurogane and I were stuck in a world called Yama for six months. He spoke their language, but I obviously couldn't, so we had a slight problem. However, I think August especially would be disappointed in me if I hadn't at least picked up some of the key phrases while I was there..." Fai turned back to Gwen with two mugs of tea, grinning. "But I took it a few steps further. I'm fluent in his language now. I may need some brushing up since I haven't practised in a while, but I'm sure it will come back to me. He even knows some of our language, which will help, I'm sure." Gwen smiled brightly.

"That's a huge relief. So are you saying we should leave Mokona with Sakura back here?" she inferred.

"Yes. We discovered that if we're ever split up, or if we ever come out of the range of Mokona's translating abilities, we're kind of stuck, so we've been working to learn at least the basics in each other's languages. Syaoran impressed me, actually. He's multilingual as it is--"

"I'm sure he and August will have lots of fun with that in common," Gwen said.

"-- And he learned Kurogane's language pretty quickly. Not fluently, but it turns out that their languages are close enough so that when they started investigating, they found certain similarities. From there it was easier. And so, I'm fluent in Kuro-pin's language, and Kuro and Syaoran can certainly communicate, which means that Syaoran and I can also communicate. I think we're okay when it comes to language." Fai looked thoughtful for a moment, then added, "And I'm sure that August will be talking to Kurogane in his language within the week, so his genius with language will be a definite ally." Gwen chuckled.

"My brother is so weird." She took a long draught from her tea, finishing it, and set it on the counter. Fai, likewise, finished. He set his cup next to hers.

"One more thing," Fai added seriously. Gwen blinked. A beat passed, and Fai laughed. "I hope you haven't forgotten your ears." It took Gwen a moment to realise what he was talking about, then cussed.

"Dammit! I would have forgotten!" She felt up automatically at the tips of her ears, still transformed into points. "Wow. That wouldn't be a dead giveaway. Crap. I'm glad you remembered." She wrote the spell in the air, then cast it upon herself. Her ears shrank back into their normal, rounded shape. "It would have been awkward trying to explain that." Fai laughed again.

"I'm so used to seeing them on you that I probably wouldn't have remembered if I hadn't been thinking about my first night back here," he said softly. His smile was soft. "Mostly about how happy I was, even amidst all my guilt and self-blame, to see you again. Blissfully happy. I couldn't really show it, of course, after everything I'd done, but it was burning through me, the joy of seeing you again." His eyes were warm as they gazed into hers. "And the only reason I remembered that is because it reflects how I'm feeling right now." Gwen didn't know how to respond to that. His sentiment was too touching for mere words, and she felt like if she were to say anything, it would be so gooey and romantic that it would just disgust them both. She compensated by hugging him tightly. He kissed the top of her head, then laid his head sideways on top of hers. They stood there for a bit, rocking back and forth slightly. Finally Fai sighed and pulled away.

"Shall we go to bed now?" he suggested. Gwen nodded, trying to stifle a yawn. He chuckled.

"Come on, sleepyhead." He bent slightly and put his hands on her waist, lifting her into his arms. She rested her head sleepily against his shoulder until he set her down in bed. She sat up long enough to undress and allow Fai to help her pull her pajamas over her head before flopping backward, cuddling under the covers as he stripped down to his boxers and crawled under the blankets with her. With a wave of his hand he took care of the lights.

"You know what?" he murmured.

"What?" Gwen's response was more of an exhaled breath than a word. Fai smiled.

"I have a good feeling about Sirian."

**End Chapter 19.**

I'm not sure how long that is, but it's hopefully something. D: I promise to work my hardest for more frequent updates! Again, I'm sorryy!

Also, if someone could remind me as to whether or not you know Gedric yet, I would be eternally grateful. xD;


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